A Hell on Cybertron
by Maverick1997
Summary: A story following the twins as they grow up in the city of Kaon. The twins are growing up fast after the death of their creators and the city of Kaon is a dangerous place. When the gladiator rings are started up will they give in to the ideals of the many or will they fight for what they believe in? Rated for violence and possible incest. Sister story to Life of a Datsun.
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone!

Camp NaNoWriMo June, that's what this story is for. This is a sister story to my Life of a Datsun and To the Academy and Beyond stories. I guess they're all going to be in a universe together. This here is a prologue so take a look-see. I hope you all enjoy it. We're focusing on the twins and the story of their lives before joining the Autobots. This is rated M for a reason. I have written this and more today so there are plenty of spelling/grammar/punctuation mistakes. All part of nano and I'll fix it up after the event. Enjoy!

Mav

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Chapter 1

The lights were dim throughout the city. street after street was cast in shadow. Bots of poor upkeep slunk from building to building, keeping to the expansive shadows. Those who were lucky enough to make a living in kaon only made very little, only a meager amount that could just barely support one bot. There were no luxuries here, every building was dilapidated, unkempt and totally barren of any paint or furniture. A bot here was lucky to have a roof over their heads and some energon in their lines.

Existence in this city was hard. Most of the mechs, and femmes, worked within the mines. They worked long hours, stretching on for orns at a time. Their frames became caked with dust, every particle getting into their fuel lines, their joints until each and every bot seemed liked they were thousands of vorns older than they actually were.

Life spans were short here, oh so short. A mech was lucky to live to the age of ten deca-vorns while a femme was even less likely to survive that long. Of course this was granted that they even made it past youngling hood. So many of the sparklings brought into existence would perish within their first few deca-orns and even more would not make it past two vorns of age.

Two young bots, young compared to the inhabitants of any other cybertronian city, walked with slow, weary steps through the streets. Both were covered in the grime specific to those in the mining industry. The femme was small, much smaller than most of the femmes working in the mines. Her frame was delicate and thin. Every part of her design showed off the ideal of being fuel efficient. Her chassis was the customary dull silver that the cybertronian metal was made up of. There was nothing fancy about her, no modifications, no paint and not even coloured optics. The optics that gleamed out of her faceplates were yellow, the colour of the light rod held within them.

The mech walking beside the femme towered over her. His frame was large and heavily reinforced. The even duller silver of his frame showed the hard work the mech had gone through and the hardships of his existence. Mechs watched greedily from alleyways as the two stumbled along, the weariness so clearly on display for anyone watching. No one hassled them though, no one here was new to the city. These two bots were liked by many, if any of them interfered they could be sure of quick retribution.

The femme's designation was Starsun although she herself was utterly confused as to how she had gained such a designation. The mech beside her was Steelwarp, her lover and bondmate. Steelwarp opened the door to their small room within the apartment building. The inside was bare but it was somewhere to shelter for each consecutive night. It was somewhere away from prying eyes, sheltered from the common acid rain caused by the energon mining.

Starsun sunk to the floor, not caring about her frame or the state of the floor. There wasn't a part of her frame that didn't ache. Her tanks longed for fuel to fill them, warnings constantly flashing across her HUD. She didn't need the reminder, it was obvious that she was depleted of energy. The orb rotating around her spark reminded her of that with each little tug. Starsun craved the extra energy, the life within her needing more and more of her precious little fuel to sustain its growth. As it was Steelwarp was giving her everything they could afford. He wasn't getting any fuel and he was the one bringing in more credits. If they kept it up he wouldn't even be able to work in the mines simply due to not having enough energy. Steelwarp brought out a cube of energon from subspace, wrapping his strong arms around Starsun. Bringing the cube to her lips he encouraged her to drink. Repeatedly she shook her head, knowing that he needed fuel. By now the warning signs on his HUD would have to be more prominent than hers. He had been going for three deca-orns now without fuel. She could survive the next little while without the energon, she would have to. Starsun would not let her bondmate suffer so much, the risk just wasn't worth it.

They had wanted sparklings from the time they had bonded, vorns ago. They knew they wouldn't be online for all that much longer. The harsh working conditions combined with no medical help meant that their frames were not up to functioning for the period of time they were intended to. It was not like they had received the upgrades required to keep them functioning at their most efficient. There were no washracks where they could wash their joints free of the soot and grime from the mines. It was hard just to walk with so much muck in their moving joints. Any medic would be horrified at the sight and state of their chassis'.

There was an audible creaking sound any time a limb was moved even slightly. An alarming rattle would sound if their cooling fans kicked on and sometimes their emergency systems would send out beeps if they got too cool-which was almost every orn. They lived in a state of disrepair, knowing that there was only so long their frames could stand up to this abuse. There was such a short time-frame to have younglings within.

Starsun vowed to get a better job to support the youngling if she lived through the birth. It wasn't like there was a medic here in kaon to help her through the difficult and trying time. Pit, there wasn't even a femme or mech still functioning that had delivered a sparkling. So many carriers offlined during the birth or not long after from complications. It was much more likely for a creator to live on-if they weren't bonded. If the couple were bonded then the sparkling would die if not found by another mech or femme in time.

It was just how it was in Kaon, a harsh and cruel existence. The bots living through it did not question what went on only following the pattern which had existed for tens of thousands of vorns. Kaon always was and would be a mining city, the city dying in its shadows as the profit reaped from the mines was fed back into the Iaconian and Praxian communities.

Steelwarp pulled Starsun close, lifting the energon to his own lipplates. Her dim optics looked up with him, the background pain clear in their light. It anguished him to know that there wasn't enough energon for the two of them, not enough to keep her fully fueled throughout her carrying stages. Their energon shortage would only worsen once the sparkling was born. He knew, in his processor, that unless they both started working many more hours they would be unable to afford the upcoming expenses. Energon in Kaon was just so expensive, one cube was ten orns worth of work. One extended shift would get one energon cube between the two of them.

Steelwarp knew that if they got too desperate then they would have to start making dark or even black energon. The two alternate forms of energon were common enough here, so common the act of making it wasn't even frowned upon. Anywhere else on cybertron you would be offlined for even attempting to make the substance but here in the darkened city where poverty ruled, trying to keep yourself online by any means necessary was the rule. There were no other rules. Or rather, there were other rules but they were never enforced. There was no real enforcer team here, no one to police the rules. The government was as corrupt and downtrodden as the city itself. No longer did representative from the mining city travel to Iacon for the meeting of the Cybertronian council. The views and the needs of the depleting population were never presented, never brought to light in the optics of the general public profiting upon their hardship.

"It will be okay Starsun, you will see. I'll start working the triple shifts if I must. Our sparkling will be fine and so shall you," Steelwarp whispered the sound so loud and profound within the empty room. The energon cube and the light of their optics was the only illumination within the confined area.

"Steel...how are we going to get enough credits for energon? Energon just keeps going up in price but we are earning the same amount. I'm scared, how are we going to get through this? Even working the triple shift we won't make enough credits. I'll have to quit my shifts to look after the sparkling," Starsun said softly, trembling ever so slightly.

The future ahead of them seemed so hard, so rocky. They though they knew everything that this woud entail, all the difficulties that could be presented to them. Starsun just hadn't thought it would be this confronting, this upfront. She hadn't thought she would be so stressed, so sick with the sparkling. She hid it well enough from Steelwarp but she could feel it within her, the date for her offlining coming ever nearer. Something was wrong in her systems but Starsun couldn't pinpoint it exactly. It wasn't just the lack of energon or all of the exertion, there was something else, something that would effect the sparkling.

"Starsun, we will get through this I promise you. Now, just open your chest plates and I'll check the sparkling. Then we can get a bit of rest, you've got to be tired. I know that you need more recharge than you are getting." Steelwarp's voice became morose at the end, the mech blaming himself for the situation they were now in.

Starsun relunctantly triggered open her chest plates, cautiously removing herself from Steelwarp's strong and protective embrace. Steelwarp's eyes peered into the cavity in her chest where her spark gently spun. Instead of one orb floating around her spark there were two, joined together slightly and seemingly chasing one another in an endless loop around the pale purple spark.

A flurry of emotions flew across Steelwarp's faceplates, horror, awe and love in quick succession. Starsun's emotions roiled, something was wrong, so very wrong if the look on her bondmate's faceplates was anything to judge on. She thought over the past shift, had there been any unusual feelings around her spark? Had she fallen harshly or just worked herself into pure exhaustion? Had the spark collapsed and rejoined her own?

Thought after thought rushed through the femme's mind, only one particular point in time sticking out to her processor. Her spark, for just one short astrosecond, had felt like it was tearing and the bond fluctuating. Was that what the issue was? Had something horrible happened to her sparkling?

"Starsun, there's two sparks, two sparklings," Steelwarp whispered, as his optics connected with those of his bondmate's.

Starsun gasped, shock running through her body. This would change everything. They only had one frame currently and so little time left to create another one. What about credits? If they were going to struggle to support three how would they deal with four? So many thoughts played out through her mind, emotions plain to see on her flaceplates.

Steelwarp just looked over her features, holding Starsun close. Quietly he murmured to her that she needed to close her chestplates and she quickly responded, shutting them with ease. Her optics stayed very dim, a customary sign that she was processing this information.

Starsun's optics returned to normal as she snuggled into Steelwarp's arms. Helm locked under his chin she sat there listening to his spark hum and his frame whirr. Together they laid down, as close together as possible to preserve warmth. Laying there together they thought of the future, the struggles that would be presented to them and knowing in their sparks that they would be able to get through this, if only for their unborn sparklings.

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Here you all are! Please review now that you have read it!


	2. On the Streets

Hey Everyone!

Here is the second chapter (first official one) for 'A Hell on Cybertron". The next two chapters are written it just may take me a while to get around to posting them. Reviews, as always certainly help me get motivated to post. This story, on my computer sits at around 10k so by the end of this chapter you are up to two fifths of the way through the story so far. A warning for violence coming up and other disturbing things, hence the M rating. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Also, beware there are spelling and grammar mistakes as I've been word warring my way through the story.

Mav

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The city hummed in the background, not one street light illuminated throughout Kaon. Everywhere, in every alleyway there were mechs and femmes. Those with strong frames inhabited the few buildings left standing. Two silver coloured frames stood within an alleyway, the two mechs ensconced in the shadows there. Around them other mechs and femmes talked, no one walking out into the bare streets lest they be caught by the new enforcers.

They stood there, looking out into the streets searching for danger. The parts of the city they now called home so vastly different from their old life. Neither twin could help but reflect back on what had led them to this, a life on the streets.

Kaon had undergone radical change but certainly not for the better. The inhabitants of the city now lived in complete slums. A total of five buildings in the city were still standing fully, still serviceable. The rest had been left to collapse, the shelter the buildings' frames provided used until the roofs fell in. The council had finally noticed the decrepit city but the little help provided came much too late to be of any use.

A small contingent of enforcers had been deployed to the city, however these once upstanding law enforcers soon became corrupted. There were few people with any credits within the city but it was well known that there was an ancient family, hidden somewhere beneath the city. The rumours all said that these ancients held all the wealth of Kaon, the city which had once been so prosperous.

It was said that the family had gone into hiding soon after Kaon's mines started to loose income. Supposedly they couldn't stand having to meet up with the other ancients from around Cybertron after gloating so much about their marvelous city. No one these days could understand what Kaon may have once looked like. There was no old arcitechture living on today, nothing to signify what the city might have been. The youth of the present day only knew Kaon as a slum, a place you were born into, forced to work in and offline at an awfully young age. Some tried to leave Kaon before the council interference but they had no skills to apply in the larger cities. Now, the enforcers had restricted anyone from leaving the city. Those who came from other cities were allowed entry into and out of the city as much as they pleased but those who had the misfortune of being born into the city never escaped. There was no longer any metal for new frames, old frames were being taken apart and reformatted for new sparks. The span of a lifetime was now less than a vorn for those brought online. So many sparklings were put into adult frames, simply because of how short a lifespan they would have. The youth of the present felt like everything had been taken from them by the generation's past. Enmity was held deep within every spark against the council who kept them in the run down city and the ancients who held all of the credits which rightly belonged to them. No longer were they paid to work in the mines, they were just frames for free labour. They had no rights, nothing truly belonged to any of them. No one had any possessions and no one had more than themselves, except for the twins.

The two mechs had been born into the Kaon community, within this dark and dank city. They were different from most though, separate from the rest. They not only had themselves but eachother as well. Their creators had passed on not so long after they had been transferred into their youngling frames. Both of them had one coat of paint on their frames, no fancy colour just a lighter silver than their base frame. There wasn't always enough energon for them all but the twins' creators gave them everything they possibly could even if it meant inconveniencing themselves.

Most of the time they had a roof over their heads-while their creators were online. Throughout the orn their creator would be gone, off to the mines to work. Their carrier would stay with them when they were little and go out on the streets at night. The twins, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, would curl up together each night as their carrier left, never returning until early morning.

The routine became usual for them both. Sometimes their creator would be home but most of the time he wouldn't be. So much time was spent with just the two of them that the twins became very independent. At first they would always stay within the small room whenever their carrier left during the night cycle but after a while they got restless, needing to get out of the aparment.

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker had never left the building until the one night that they had snuck out while no one else was home. The room was becoming a prison, a place that shut them off from everything else that was out there. Light footsteps had padded across the empty room, the door handle turning with a loud squeak. The floor creaked under their every movement, marking the trail of the two energetic younglings. The stairs had been their usual play toy, the two loving to run, jump or slide down them at any given time.

Now though, with freedom so close the two chose to ignore the stair well and make straight for the door leading outside. Sideswipe took the lead as they reached the door, tiny servos reached out for the handle and pulled it down. Sunstreaker's back pressed up against the actual door and the combined effort swung the heavy door open just enough for the two to slip outside. Neither one had thought of how they were getting back in until much later.

The light, much brighter than they had ever seen shone down on the streets. There was no one else there that their optics could spot. It was almost as if they were alone in the world, the only living thing there. To Sunstreaker it appeared that every corner had a demon hidden behind it, just waiting for them to come close enough for the demon to grab them. For Sideswipe each corner led to a new discovery and a new adventure.

With hesitant but every hastening steps the two younglings took off into the night, exploring every little alleyway they could find. The two just ignored those mechs and femmes they saw in the shadows, never really taking a second look at the grotesque figures. So many of them were covered in grime, missing limbs or just plain scary.

The maze of alleyways became the twins' new secret playground. Neither creator knew about their forays into the unknown, the fun. They had no clue that the two twins could find their way around the city with ease or traipse from one end to the other within a single night was something that the two shared together, a talent that they kept to themselves. Sideswipe held the secret close to his heart, loving the feeling that came with sneaking out every nightcycle. Sunstreaker kept the secret to himself as well but didnt revel in it quite like his twin. He would much rather have just told their creators and be able to ask them about all the different things that they saw within the city.

What had happened to those mechs and femmes missing those limbs? Why did they live within the streets when surely they would be able to find somewhere to take shelter? Why was everybot covered in grime and never washed clean? Sunstreaker shuddered to think of how the grime was most likely eating away at each mech and femme's circuit, breaking it down until it would just disintegrate. In his young processor he vowed to keep himself clean so as not to do so much harm to his chassis. It did not seem like a pleasant way to offline, slowly falling apart.

When their creators offlined it was extremely sudden. Starsun had been sitting in one corner of the room, keeping an eye on the two twins. The twins were also sitting on the floor, over by the doorway. They were playing some sort of clapping game they had designed for themselves to keep their processors occupied. Together they would clap their hands in a pattern getting faster and faster until one of them stuffed it up. That person would get a score against their name. If you reached five then you had lost the battle. Usually at the end of a game a fight would ensue, the most common cause of it a misconception over who had really one. Accusations of cheating were thrown harshly at one another before another game would begin, and so the cycle would continue.

The two were so engrossed in their game that they didn't notice their creator jerk suddenly, a servo coming to hover over her chestplates. Optics lit up brightly and her lipplates moved without a sound. Pain raced across the bond followed immediately by a feeling of loss. It was a feeling that started off small but grew ever larger, almost as if it was eating up the bond as it travelled into her chassis.

Starsun knew something had gone wrong, something had happened to Steelwarp. The twin's carrier knew, without a doubt that Steelwarp had offlined. The work within the mines had gotten sloppier and sloppier as mechs survived on increasing less rations. no longer could their frames support such heavy workloads without injury and in many cases, offlining.

Nothing escaped the silver femme's lips. Her optics began to shut down for no real reason whatsoever. No warnings flashed across her HUD, this kind of system area just wasn't compatible with the cybertronian processor. Grief swelled up within Starsun, the femme hating the idea of leaving her two creations.

There was no more energy running within her wiring, not even enough to get out a few last words to her beloved creations. The twins sat happily playing as their carrier slowly offlined, following after her bondmate.

Neither of the twins noticed until much later when they decided that they wanted to curl up to have a rest. Sunstreaker bounded across the room to his carrier who appeared to be recharging. Chassis slumped against the wall and helm hanging down, the youngling didn't even think about how uncomfortable the position was.

"Carrier, Sides and I want to recharge now okay?" Sunstreaker blurted, bouncing on his pedes.

No response came from the silver frame in front of him. Usually Starsun would wake up suddenly if either one of the twins approached her. A feeling of unease welled up inside Sunstreaker as he looked down at the sprawled out frame of his carrier.

"Carrier!" Sunstreaker whined loudly, his tiredness showing through his tone.

Sideswipe looked over at his twin and carrier as he heard Sunstreaker try to get a response from his creator. Something looked off about Starsun but the youngling couldn't figure out exactly what the problem was. There was something wrong about the colour of her frame, it wasn't quite as silver as usual, it was more of a grey colour.

Climbing to his pedes Sides ran over to where Sunstreaker stood, looking down at their carrier. Sunstreaker took a couple of steps forward to shake Starsun a little. Sideswipe looked on with trepidation, feeling the aura within the air. He knew within his spark that something horrible had happened and he just knew that they weren't going to get a response from their carrier.

A light shake from Sunstreaker did nothing, Starsun's helm rolling to the side slightly with the force from the little servos. The quieter twin just sat there stunned, not knowing what to do. He couldn't feel the atmosphere the way Sideswipe could, didn't have the same understanding of the situation.

Sunstreaker started to cry, silently at first but soon morphing into loud sobs that wracked his frame. He cried out for his carrier, giving her frame a few more ineffective shakes. Sideswipe just stood there numbly, not knowing what to feel. He lifted his eyes from the chassis of his carrier to meet his twin's optics.

He saw their deep, spark wrenching pain. The amount of emotion within his optics stunned the standing twin. Sideswipe hadn't seen such emotion ever from Sunstreaker and little did he know it but he never would again.

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How did you like the chapter? Please leave a review.


	3. Scavenging for Energon

Hey Everyone!

Here is chapter three of A Hell on Cybertron. The next three chapters are completed and waiting on the computer. I'm going to wait until I have two reviews until the next chappy is uploaded. I know there are heaps of you reading this story so why not review? Feedback is always great and as i am in the writing progress I'll be able to fix some things up. This chapter has been spellchecked (woah i know!). Also, this is a longer chappie than the others have been. I hope you all enjoy1

Maverick

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Chapter 3

The twins left the apartment later that day, Sideswipe finally speaking out loud. They knew that their creator was also off lined; there was nothing in the apartment for them now. Undoubtedly Steelwarp's co-workers would know about the bond and about the apartment that he had inhabited. They wouldn't hesitate in breaking in to the bare room just to get some shelter. They had no clue what these mechs or femmes might do but it would be bad. Their only option was to take to the streets which had become their playground. The place which had once been home to many adventures now became a safe haven, their place to belong.

The streets were dangerous though, much more dangerous than they had ever known. When the twins had been playing on these very same streets they hadn't spent that much time there, hadn't spent orns on end within their confines. The mechs and femmes everywhere were hostile, greedy and only looking out for themselves. Energon was nowhere to be found and any energon there was ended up with the strongest bots there.

How they survived neither of the twins knew for sure. The city was cordoned off from the rest, a small island in a vast sea. There was nowhere to go, the only resources available were those within the boundaries held by the council enforcers.

Beneath the facade of the city was a deeper and darker place. Underneath the streets that many a bot walked upon was a whole other world. This second city of sorts was home to the more ruthless but also the wealthier. Here there was more energon-if you had gumption enough to steal it.

The mechs who resided within this all-consuming darkness called all the shots within the corrupt city. If you were caught you could be sure that you were never going to be seen again. These bots revelled in the feeling of killing of harming. They enjoyed the screams of pain or the agonising stares of those slowly starving to death.

Sunstreaker was the first to venture into this underground world, a world where there was no division between youngling and fully framed bots. Here was a place where you lived only if you were good enough, if not you ceased to exist.

The more withdrawn twin stumbled into this world by sheer accident. One orn he had been walking down the street before he sighted a garbage shoot. The two twins had split up to look for energon and had arranged a meeting spot for later on. Although many searches of other shoots had been completely unfruitful he knew that he needed to go and check out this one. You never knew when you would find some energon, even if only a few drops. Those few drops were better than getting nothing at all to sustain yourself.

With a deep breath to fill his tanks the small youngling jumped into the shoot, pedes first. Slime stuck to the walls and he could feel it stick to his frame. The goo and congealing liquid snuck into his joints, coating some vital energon and electrical lines. A wince crossed his faceplates as he felt foetid air rush past him.

A whistling sound could be heard all around him and just barely could Sunstreaker sense the walls of the shoot a denta width away from him on all sides. There was no light here, everything was dark. It seemed to be an ever present thing in his life-this darkness. Everywhere was dark, from the streets to the dump shoots to the apartment he had once resided in.

As soon as Sunstreaker's pedes impacted with the hard metal and scrap he bent his knee joints and crumbled into a ball. Here there was a trickle of light, not as much on the streets but certainly more than the youngling had expected. Poking his helm up Sunstreaker looked around the bin he was now in. this one was designed much differently from the rest. The bin was open, not closed in like every other one he had come across.

The light he could see was coming from a small globe, high up in the ceiling. On three sides the bin was closed in but on the fourth there was a small space before a door set in the door. There appeared to be no lock on the door but it was certainly sturdy. Wondering why such a door would be down the bottom of a trash chute Sunstreaker started looking through the bin for anything resembling energon. The top layer of garbage yielded nothing but it never did. On the few occasions you ever found energon it was in the bottom of a bin, buried well down beyond easy reach. Removing parts of the top layer Sunstreaker continued to sieve through the waste of the more wealthy bots here. Those were the bots that had a job which actually paid enough credits to survive on.

Moving one final piece of building waste Sunstreaker spotted an energon cube, half full of darkly coloured liquid. It didn't look appetising but none of it ever did. Just the sheer fact that he had found any energon whatsoever stunned the youngling. Who would have though he would have found energon in this chute out of all of them?

Snatching the energon cube up with a quick servo Sunstreaker painfully subspaced it. Both his and Sideswipe's subspaces weren't designed to carry anything in them. They had them in order for their spark to get used to the unusual energy given off by any usable subspace. If they had been upgraded to adult frames like many of the other younglings were, they would have received appropriate subspace compartments. Despite not having the right modifications the two younglings persevered with subspacing anything useful. If they didn't subspace it they were likely to be killed in order for others to get their acquisitions.

Sunstreaker stretched upwards before settling down again, allowing his subspace to stretch minutely and so alleviate some of the discomfort. He cast a look around the room before staring up at the chute he had just sailed down. This was always the difficult part-climbing back up to normal ground level.

Bunching his legs up under him the youngling prepared to leap up; digits were wriggled once before he took in a large vent of air. Whoosh, his digits met with the crumbling edge of the garbage chute. His grip was tight around the brittle metal, ensuring that the small crumbling part did not affect his hold or stability.

Quickly bringing his legs around and up into the sheer walls of the chute the twin performed some interesting manoeuvres to get himself upright. Using a chimney climbing approach he inched his way upwards, towards the usual street level.

The going was painfully slow but experience made it easier on his young frame. No longer did Sunstreaker get so exhausted after climbing up just one of these chutes. When the twins had first started on the streets they could only ever search one chute per night cycle due to the exhaustion they experienced.

As the two spent longer on the streets their frames became used to running on drastically reduced amounts of energon while performing much more strenuous activity. One garbage chute soon grew to three and even five. Their small frames gave them a slight advantage in getting down the chute but less of an advantage coming back up.

The bigger mechs roaming the streets were unable to get down these chutes to search for energon. These mechs were usually ones who could no longer work in the mines either because their optics were malfunctioning or some other part of them was critically damaged. These bots would usually stand around the entrance to one of these chutes, confiscating anything that other bots brought up with them.

It was always a little hit and miss on which garbage deposit you decided to raid. Those in the richer part of the city were always monitored and it was unlikely you would leave with your life. In the poorer parts of the city you were much less likely to get any decent energon but you would at least survive to see the next orn.

It was with an exvent of relief that Sunstreaker poked his head out of the garbage chute entrance. There wasn't a bot in sight. The street was as quiet as it always was and the one light flickered ominously.

Slinking from the tunnel Sunstreaker turned and hurried down the twisting alleyways towards his meeting spot. Relatively small legs carried him swiftly throughout the city. Ignoring other bots was always the best way to go, unless you were able to withstand a fight without any injury whatsoever. Shadows were your friend and the first rule was to always use them to the best of your ability.

There were no friends on the street. There were alliances but that was a whole different ball game. Unless it was your twin, a split spark twin, you were more likely to get sold out than anything. You couldn't trust anyone you met because everybot was as desperate as the next.

Upon arrival at their meeting spot behind one of the most rundown buildings, Sunstreaker sat down in a corner utilising the darkness there to the best of his ability. Silver was a colour that blended in well here- everything was silver.

Sideswipe wouldn't come back for another couple of joors. Getting comfortable in his position on the ground the youngling prepared to wait. Curled up in a ball he rested his helm on his knee joints, keeping an eye out for any danger. You could never relax in the city streets.

Sunstreaker's twin showed up some time later, a look of dejection on his face. The severe lack of energon was weighing on both of the twins. Sure they could survive a little while with no energon but already they were feeling the effects of the horrible grade and minimal quantity. His movements were more sluggish than usual, never a good thing with so much danger about. His optics weren't functioning anywhere near as well as they could have been. Just the overall feeling of being run down was alarming. His spark was young and Sideswipe knew it. To think that his frame was already having symptoms of system collapse terrified him. The very idea of off lining so soon after entering this world alarmed him but in another odd way soothed him.

To think that the harshness of the streets could be gone, non-existent if he offlined. Sideswipe knew he wouldn't be able to offline himself but a system collapse...well it could solve all of his issues. The only thing he would regret would be dragging his brother with him, away from the world of the online. But would he even be able to regret it? Would he even have a consciousness after offlining?

Such morbid thoughts were running through the youngling's processor as he snuck into the area where he was meant to meet up with his twin. There appeared to be no one in the area but Sideswipe knew, simply because of the bond, that his twin was nearby. Their bond wasn't as strong as it had previously been but it still functioned.

Sometimes the bond would twinge, painfully while other times it would feel as if their sparks were being ripped out of their chests. This uncanny pain would appear at any random time and scared the both of them. Neither knew what it meant, it wasn't like they had anyone to ask about it. There wasn't a reputable medic anywhere within the city. Pit, there probably wasn't even a medic full stop.

It wasn't like there was any real need for anyone medically trained. Lives were worth so little here and the living conditions so poor that there wasn't even a point to fixing a bot up. Most likely they would be dead within the vorn even if you managed to fix everything you possibly could. It was a fact of life and had to be dealt with.

Furthermore it wasn't like there was any other set of twins that Sunstreaker and Sideswipe could go and talk to. They were certainly the only ones within this city and for all they knew possibly in the whole of Cybertron. No bot with an ordinary bond would understand so they just had to live with the uneasy thought that the pain could hit at any time.

Sometimes it would cross Sideswipe's processor that a problem with the bond could have been the reason for his creators to have offlined. The thought was never dwelt on for long, the feelings that surfaced with the memory too potent. He made sure never to let Sunstreaker know about what he was thinking, it would be too difficult for his twin to deal with.

Sunstreaker had withdrawn from Sideswipe gradually since the death of their creators. He had never been all that outgoing but now he barely spoke to Sideswipe out loud. Their bond had remained dormant, closed off between them since the day in the apartment. Neither one even thought of linking the closed bond to the pain that they were experiencing.

The more withdrawn twin stepped out of the shadows, having unfolded from his previous position. Gliding gracefully to Sideswipe's side they looked each other in the optics before Sideswipe gestured towards the building on their right. The two walked together, perfectly in step without saying one word out loud to each other. They were both on the same page, knew each other so well that there was no need for talking. Their chassis communicated in a subconscious way and the two moved in synchronisation.

Ruins of some old building stood there on their right, crumbling down. The roof had collapsed long ago, possibly before they had even been created. Nothing stood except for three walls, not even joined together. Almost no shelter was provided by the remains of the building so no other bots bothered to come near the ancient relic. You could tell if you looked extremely closely, that the building had once been grand. It could even have been a palace from the faint colour that could be seen upon the remains of the walls. The floors were well passed their use by date and there were cracks throughout the once smooth metal. It was miraculous that the floors even remained a testimony to the wonderful workmanship that had once been bestowed upon the building.

In one corner of the building, against one of the partially standing walls the twins had built a shelter of sorts. A multitude of small metal pieces had made a roof between a boulder and the bottom of the wall. Overlapping pieces helped to make the little shelter better protected from the elements. The acid rain, ever increasing in frequency was one of their most major concerns. You could walk down the street at any given time and see many a bot rendered offline by the rain.

It used to be that it only rained once every one or two vorns, now it was almost an ornly occurrence. Everyone hated the rain as it poured down on them. The liquid got into every joint and gap in the armour. The acid the liquid comprised of was extremely corrosive, eating through any and all energon or electrical lines within the chassis. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe had been lucky so far in that they hadn't been caught unawares in one of the storms.

Their shelter, however crude, protected by the storms each and every orn. Failing making it to their shelter, the two would find a garbage chute to dive into, along with the many other bots who could make it down the small passageway.

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe now settled themselves down within the shelter, audio receivers tuned for any unusual sounds within the area. Although this was a quiet, abandoned part of the city you could still get unusual visitors every now and then. To be caught unawares was one of the worst things that could happen in such a hostile environment and the twins avoided it at all costs.

"How did you go Sunny? I didn't find anything." Sideswipe said, glad to be off of his pedes for a while.

"I went down a couple of different chutes today. I found this in one of them," Sunstreaker stated as he pulled the darkly coloured energon cube from subspace, placing it on the ground in front of him.

Sideswipe gave the liquid a suspicious glance. It didn't look at all like normal energon or any digestible energon for that matter of fact. Maybe they would be able to ingest it safely but Sideswipe wasn't sure if he wanted to run the risk.

"Sunny that doesn't even look digestible. Are you sure it is even energon?"

"Sides, do we really have a choice? There isn't any normal energon anywhere and we're going to offline soon if we don't get some nutrients into our frames. I'm going to chance it. You don't have to if you don't want to."

In saying this Sunstreaker lifted the cube to his lips and took a sip from it. The taste wasn't all that bad per say but it was very different from the usual energon. It was much bitterer with an odd tang after it was swallowed. His energon lines gurgled softly as the liquid slid down them into his tanks. Putting the cube there he sat still, waiting to see if he would have a reaction to the substance.

Sideswipe watched his twin closely, monitoring for any odd signs that could mean he was going to offline. Nothing happened, not a flicker of an optic or a twitch of Sunstreaker's digit. The close scrutiny continued until his twin looked up from his pensive position studying the cube. Their optics met and Sideswipe reached out for the cube. Bringing it to his own lips the twin took a slightly larger sip than his brother.

The twin's optics flickered slightly, the unusual flavour tingling his senses. It was certainly different but not totally unpleasant. He could already feel the energy running through his lines and the extra boost that he was so unaccustomed to. This wasn't normal energon but it didn't seem to be a form of high grade either. High grade was always richer in flavour so this seemed to be some variant of standard mid-grade energon.

The liquid was relatively smooth, showing that it was refined but not smooth enough to warrant it being made in a factory. Sideswipe reflected on who could have made this energon as his twin took another sip. Many bots who were desperate enough made their own energon but most of the time it was indigestible. Whoever was making this knew what they were doing.

Sideswipe continued to reflect on this as he and Sunstreaker drank the cube between them. It was more energon than they had drank in their whole lifetime. The quantity they had consumed in their lifetime was less than an Iaconian would drink in a deca-orn.

The energon finished and tanks gurgling ominously the twins settled down in preparation for the day cycle. Sideswipe was assigned first shift so Sunstreaker curled himself up. The twin's fell into easy companionship for yet another day in this new life.

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Well now there is Chapter 3. Hope you enjoyed and hopefully you'll review. :)


	4. Exploring the Underground

Hey Everyone!

Here is Chapter 4. We're still looking at Sunstreaker's point of view but don't worry because we'll be getting a closer look at Sideswipe soon enough. Thanks to KKCliffy and FractaUmbra you have your chapter today. Thanks for the reviews guys, they make my day! Now, I'm off to word war and get some writing done while you all read this chappy.

Mav

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Chapter 4

A couple of night cycles later Sunstreaker was back at the same garbage chute where he had found the energon. His systems were working to a much higher standard and thanks to this they had found a bit more energon due to longer searches. Both of the twins were feeling refreshed and much more energetic than they had ever felt.

The withdrawn twin looked at the chute, studying it with bright optics. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to go down the chute but he certainly wanted to find out where that door led, what kind of adventure lay behind there. Not to mention, it would be a good bonus if he could get some more of that energon. Just because they were relatively well fuelled now didn't mean that their luck would hold out.

Sending a glance up and down both sides of the street, Sunstreaker climbed into the miniature passageway. The air whooshed past him and soon enough he was finding himself in the same pile of garbage from the other orn.

Nothing had changed; the garbage hadn't even shifted from where he had placed it in his quest for energon. Some minor bits of rubbish had been added to the pile but certainly nothing major. Nowhere on top was there any sign of energon and Sunstreaker knew he would have to dig through one of the other corners if he were to find anything.

Sunstreaker sent a longing glance towards the door before turning to the opposite corner from where he had explored the other night cycle. The pile of rubbish here was much larger than it was before the other night but if it would yield energon it didn't matter how much work had to be done. The youngling set his processor on the task and got to it.

The materials on this side of the dumpster were much larger and heavier. Sunstreaker struggled to lift a lot of the different pieces but somehow he got through it. At the very bottom of the dumpster, well hidden under all the junk, was another half full cube of energon. The twin was thankful that he hadn't done all that work for absolutely nothing.

The cube was subspaced carefully before the youngling turned his attention to the single door in the room. There was nothing else of any consequence here. The small light bulb flickered and was off more often than on. The chute in the roof was the only other access point to the enclosed space other than the door.

Sunstreaker shot a look towards the chute, thinking about Sideswipe and how long he might take. Figuring he had enough time, the silver youngling walked over to the door. A hesitant servo reached out to touch the doorknob and recoiled quickly. The metal was cold to the touch. Cybertronian frames were always on the cold side but the metal was almost icy. The air on the other side of the door must be freezing.

What could be on the other side of this door to warrant such a temperature? Was it an abyss into the very depths of Cybertron? Or, was it some sort of hidden monster deep beneath the city? Sunstreaker's curiosity was piqued and as these thoughts ran through his processor he stepped towards the door again.

Servo's steady this time he grabbed hold tightly and turned the door knob. As the door was pushed open a gush of freezing air encompassed the youngling's frame. Core system temperatures started to drop rapidly but the twin barely noticed. He was off on an adventure now and there was so much to see.

Nothing could be heard from the small gap between the door and the doorframe. No sounds of footsteps and no sounds of voices. It was almost as if it were a tomb on the other side of this sheet of metal. A cold, dark and relentless tomb of the offline from Kaon.

Sunstreaker stepped through, his spark urging him to explore the unknown right here on his doorstep. One pede followed the other as he stepped through the doorway. Light suddenly surrounded him. It was odd, considering that nowhere was ever well lit in Kaon. It seemed as though the youngling had stepped into a whole other city. Was that even possible?

Sunstreaker's frame was still as his optics struggled to adjust to the unprecedented amount of light. Moving his helm from side to side the youngling tried to identify his surroundings. It seemed as though he was in a corridor, one that was rarely used. There wasn't any dust but there was an aura of abandonment here. From somewhere else a low humming sound could be heard. It was almost as if thousands of bots were talking to each other a great distance away from the youngling.

The twin looked in both directions and decided on going to his left. Each end of the corridor looked the same and one way was as good as the other. Pedesteps that had once been slow and cautious moved into a quick, running pace. This was an adventure, one that could open up new possibilities.

The hallway stretched on, the metal on either side unmarked. There wasn't another door or even any sign of a bot having been there for vorns. Occasionally there would be a scuff mark on the ground but this corridor was eerily devoid of life.

The youngling continued on, the bright lights making him feel nervous. It was one long string of light, a continuous light that ran the full length of the corridor. There were no breaks as though there were separate light bulbs; instead it was as if there was just one continuous bulb.

Eventually Sunstreaker came across a door. This one looked in a much better condition than the one near the garbage chute. The hinges hear looked like they were being maintained and the sound of voices was much louder. Not quite loud enough to be heard clearly through the metal but loud enough to be discerned as voices, multiple voices.

Sunstreaker ran his servo up this door, his frame shivering from the heat emanating from the door. The youngling hadn't even noticed the steady drop in temperature within his chassis, too caught up in the adventure. Unfortunately it wasn't like his frame was any good at regulating temperature, mainly due to his thermostat breaking after his first vorn online.

He hesitated as he looked at the door. Once this door was opened there was no going back, he would know what lay beneath the dying city. What or who it could be, Sunstreaker had no idea. However, he wanted to find out no matter the costs so he pushed open this door.

A cacophony of voices flooded into his audio receivers. Stepping forward the twin realised he was on a hidden platform well above the ground level of the room. Hundreds of mechs and femmes walked the floor of the giant atrium. It seemed as though it was a meeting place for bots from across the city. These were the bots you never saw above ground, the ones with the credit. What drew them to this area beneath the roads and alleyways?

Femmes waltzed backwards and forwards, hips sashaying smoothly. Most held platters within their servos, the energon from the garbage bin placed upon it. There was a darker liquid too, on that was almost coal black. Mechs, obviously wealthy from the design of their frames, sat upon chairs. More femmes sat on their laps or beside them, vying for attention.

Sunstreaker didn't understand what was going on. Why were there so many femmes down here but none on the streets? The ones here had very different frame types from any femmes he had ever seen. Their legs were nicely tapered into moderately wide hips with a curving torso. Their arms were thin and their servos delicate. Long, beautiful digits danced across the chassis of the mechs lounging around the room. All the attention was on these wealthy mechs. In the corners of the room stood broad shouldered mechs, standing guard to a number of doorways. On one side there was a corridor, vastly different from the hallway he had just exited.

The corridor was wide, wide enough to allow seven mechs to walk abreast. There was constant traffic through this hallway, bots of all shapes and sizes entering and exiting the room. All of them appeared to be wealthy to a degree and more often than not had very fancy frames.

So few of the bots had mining frames, the only ones who did were those who stood guard. It was easy to tell that the femmes waitressing were getting paid well as none of them looked weakened from starvation. All of the bots had healthy gleams to their armour and their optics ranged in shades.

It was hard for Sunstreaker to get his head around, this city beneath a city. It was for the wealthy, that much was obvious but as for the rest of its purpose he had no idea. This whole place seemed as though it was another community, one for the rich and those who were willing to do anything to get enough energon to survive.

Sunstreaker stepped back into the shadows, not wanting to expose himself to the optics below. The youngling did not want to anger those with the credits of the city. It would be simple for them to get rid of him, simply kill him off. Sideswipe wouldn't know what had happened at all but his life would be ended as well.

Dropping to the ground beneath him the twin decided to listen in to the conversations going on below. Maybe there was something of interest going on, or alternatively he may find out the name of the energon it was that they had been drinking. At least now he knew that he was likely to continuously find energon in that dumpster. If it was the dumping place of such a wealthy community then chances are there would be a fair bit of waste, that's just the way it worked.

Pressing an audio receiver to the grate, Sunstreaker started listening.

"The Praxian ancients are yet again challenging us to a competition my creations. I shall accept this challenge. Who of you wishes to compete for this round?" A voice rang out, clear and decisive.

"I shall go creator, I do so love challenging the Praxians. It will be good to test my skill out again against Spark Crusher." Another voice declared, sounding extremely eager for the challenge.

Sunstreaker wondered what kind of challenge they were talking about. He also wondered who the Praxian ancients were and why there was so much hostility between these bots and the Praxian bots.

"They beat us by such a slim margin last time we'll surely have them beat in this challenge. I shall go to watch but as I am carrying I shall not participate." A more feminine voice said, the femme not sounding particularly emotional about the idea of a sparkling.

"Then it is decided, the two oldest creations of mine shall be pitted against the two youngest of the Spark family. Supposedly they would like to see how well their younglings are progressing through the training stages." The first voice stated, sounding extremely confident about the way the challenge would end. There was a sneer to his voice, he did not hide the obvious hate of the Spark family.

"There had been talk, of course, that these two younglings are highly skilled in battle and have 'revolutionary' processors. Even with all that technology and training they will not get the upper hand. Nothing can be substituted for a solid frame design and build."

"Creator, you shall not be disappointed. I will let Dragracer know that he is competing in the next vorn. We will increase our training schedule and we will defeat them!'

Sunstreaker gnawed at his lip plates, wondering what this was all about. It seemed as though this competition would be extremely violent and not just a test of the wits. It almost sounded as though the bots could lose their lives in the challenge,

The atmosphere in the room became tense; Sunstreaker could even sense it from his position well above the bots. Getting into a crouching position the youngling pinpointed where the voices had come from. There was a small group of bots, almost in the centre of the room. All of them had brightly coloured frames, so flashy they looked as if they didn't belong.

In the centre of the long chair was a mech. Tall and imposing with the most outrageous colour scheme of orange and pink he looked less like a powerful creator and more like an optic sore fit for a pleasurebot avenue. Beside him was a femme of great stature. Her body wasn't thin or tapered like the others in the room. Instead it was broad and strong, heavily armoured across the whole chassis. What she needed the armour for Sunstreaker could only guess. The femme didn't appear to be with sparkling but then again the armour was so thick it would be hard to tell. The other bot, standing just in front of the couch was a mech. Taller than his creator the mech was heavily ladened with armour. Fluro green and black criss crossed his frame, a confusing sight for the optics. It was hard to concentrate on the mech when he was standing still and the youngling figured he would be close to impossible to focus on when moving around.

The mech started pacing, muttering something very lowly. The creator turned to his other creation and started talking in the same tone as previously. The two started discussing plans for the event, where it would be held and who would be in attendance. The date was already set, presumably by the family they were competing against.

Sunstreaker stood slowly, wanting to get out of the area before anyone spotted him. It was miraculous that no one had explored this platform until now. The way every other door was being guarded it was highly likely somebot was meant to patrol or be stationed at this one.

Backing up until his aft touched the door; the twin turned and opened it slowly. The hinges were well oiled; ensuring Sunstreaker's presence wasn't alerted to the room. That would be the last thing the youngling needed. Right now he wanted to get back to where Sideswipe was and discuss what was going on.

The two certainly needed a new game plan for getting energon. Currently this way of collecting it from garbage disposals was not working, they weren't getting enough and it wasn't of a good enough grade. If they wanted to survive properly they would need to figure out a much better way of acquiring the life source.

Closing the door behind him Sunstreaker made a return journey down the hallway. He was moving slower than he had when embarking on his adventure but still his pedes carried him swiftly. By the time he reached the garbage bin he was exhausted. Summoning his remaining energy he climbed up the slippery shoot. The metal lining it was as slippery as ever and it was a relief to get to the top. Cautiously checking the alleyway Sunstreaker climbed out.

The youngling led a winding path between the buildings. Sometimes he walked in large circles and in other times retraced his steps for a bit. In the end though he got to his usual meeting spot with Sideswipe.

Walking into the alleyway where he had settled himself down the other night cycle Sunstreaker sensed his twin nearby. A servo on his shoulder alerted him fully to the presence of his twin and the two silently made their way over to their small shelter.

"Hey Sunstreaker, have any luck?" Sideswipe asked, not overly cheery but not depressed either.

"Some, I got a bit more of that energon. It was harder to find this time but at least it's something," Sunstreaker said, choosing to keep his knowledge of the secret underground to himself for now.

The bond was closed off anyways, no problems about anything leaking across. It used to be hard to not let anything through to affect his twin but now it was hard to get anything at all across. Sometimes the withdrawn twin regretted the loss of the strong bond but he knew it was better this way.

Sunstreaker was no longer the twin that Sideswipe knew from when their bond was open. He had changed, the emotions within him changing to something darker and more sinister. Nothing overtly dark yet but certainly not the carefree feelings he had once contained.

It wasn't like they knew how to open up the bond again, to let the feelings flow between them. The two had tried, soon after the death of their creators but already they had let the bond go too far. Sideswipe felt like it would be a good idea to open the bond again; maybe he would find out how much the death of their creators had really affected him.

Sunstreaker never shared his feelings, never talked about their carrier's death at all. Occasionally the more outgoing twin wondered in Sunstreaker had even noticed the death of their creators. Had it affected him at all?

But then Sideswipe would remember that the offlining was the catalyst for this new Sunstreaker. It was the start of his twin becoming withdrawn and moody. No longer did Sunstreaker rely on Sideswipe for anything, instead he was more independent, the one to always do things alone.

The twins made their way over to the shelter and settled down. There was a hazy glow in the night sky, signalling the coming dawn. Systems started to slow as their frames stopped their continuous movement. Sunstreaker unsubspaced the cube and set it on the ground between them.

Neither twin talked as they sat together, lost in their own thoughts. Sunstreaker was focusing on the bots he had been spying on and the upcoming challenge. Sideswipe on the other hand was thinking about their energon issue and what they could do about it.

As the sun rose above the city Sideswipe settled down to sleep while Sunstreaker kept watch. The energon cube sat empty between them as one orn blended into the next.

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Wow, a full 3k chappy. Hope you enjoyed it, review please?


	5. Sideswipe Deals

Hey Everyone,

Here is chapter five of A Hell on Cybertron. Wasn't going to update yet due to a lack of reviews (Yes, seriously. There was over 50 people reading this since I posted but no reviews :() but NineCrow, one of my lovely pm reviews has offered some encouragement. So as thanks here is the next chapter. I've completed all the way up to Chapter 10 with over 22k of work sitting on my computer. Currently ahead of the daily quota for Camp NaNoWriMo. I hope you enjoy the chapter and just ignore the spelling/grammar mistakes which I'll fix up after camp. Two reviews needed before the next chapter appears.

Mav

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Chapter 5

Sideswipe was out on his own again, working his way through the shadier side of the city. Kaon was full of pitfalls and one of them was getting caught up with the wrong mechs. Alternatively you could always accidently fall down one of the holes in the unkempt roads.

While Sunstreaker was off looking for energon Sideswipe was doing the same, only in a slightly different way. There was no energon to be found on this side of Kaon but if you knew the right mechs and had things to trade then you would be able to get somewhere.

Soon after the twins had begun their life on the streets Sideswipe had realised that he needed to make connections, quickly. To make connections you either had to be tough or have valuable things for trade. The twin knew he certainly did not have an imposing frame so he was left with option B.

For orns he had scavenged for parts which could be of use to those with mining frames. Slowly but surely he collected enough to form a decent group of materials. From there he had set out to find a group of mechs that would be decent customers for him.

Sideswipe had stumbled upon the group by sheer chance. They had been close to where he was storing his materials, grouped together under a lone light in an abandoned alleyway. Each mech had large bulky frames, giving away their occupation.

Approaching them cautiously the youngling had made sure not to startle any of them. If they had been startled it was likely that they would have killed him without a second thought. After tense negotiations it had been settled that the two parties would trade supplies. Sideswipe would give them materials in exchange for some of the raw materials from the mine.

From there the enterprising twin had set out to find someone who manufactured energon, even if it wasn't the best of grades. He found his femme in an alcove on the very outskirts of the city. Sitting upon the hard ground she stared off into space, not looking totally involved in the real world.

A full cube of energon sat in front of her, slightly off in colour but certainly looking consumable. Sideswipe stumbled upon her by accident as he was looking for more supplies to pass onto the mining mechs. It was a good omen that he had found his energon supplier.

Throughout that orn he had negotiated a deal with the femme. She was willing to trade the minerals from the mine for some of her energon. It turned out her energon was made from mine materials anyways so essentially he was providing her with more nutrients for the energon.

So here Sideswipe was now, on his usual route to deliver the goods to the mining mechs. He didn't know any of them by name just as none of them knew his own designation. It was best this way, all parties remaining relatively anonymous. Frames here were so stock standard all of them were just one out of many. There would be no way to trace any of the parties involved.

The twin's subspace was full to the brim with materials while the rest stayed hidden in a drop zone. He would meet up with the mechs, take them to the drop zone and then collect the minerals. From there he would leave to meet the femme in the alcove. By the end of it all he would have some energon and a very tired chassis.

"Hey pipsqueak, got the materials we need?" a harsh voice asked, belonging to the tall frame at the front of the group.

"Sure do! If you would all like to follow me," Sideswipe said as he led the way. It was odd having them all behind him, putting him in a very vulnerable position.

The group were talking quietly, a couple of them grumbling about their shift at work. Each of them looked extremely run down, the armour which had only been replaced ten orns ago now not even fit for scrap metal. This was why they needed Sideswipe's supplies so badly. If one valued staying online then they would need adequate material to repair and refurbish their frames.

"Here it is," Sideswipe declared with flourish, gesturing to the stockpiled metal.

The mechs took it all in, sweeping their eyes over the loot.

"You did well this time pipsqueak. Here are the minerals you needed. We won't be back for another fifteen orns but we'll have some more customers for you. Look forward to doing more business with ya," the mech declared, obviously dismissing Sideswipe.

The twin reached out and grabbed the minerals, subspacing them quickly. Mumbling a quick 'you're welcome' Sideswipe hit the road in order to go to the femme. He didn't know her designation easier and it was just simpler to refer to her as the femme. It wasn't as if femmes were all that common in Kaon and nobot except her lived on the outskirts of the dying city. It just wasn't safe to do so, under any circumstances.

Unless the femme was in the employ of the enforcers it was highly likely she would be targeted by them every time they did a perimeter sweep. Luckily a perimeter sweep was rare due to the effective electrical walls surrounding the city of Kaon. These walls easily kept the mechs and femmes within them.

The walk to get to the alcove was long and often difficult. There was no clear road or path to the outskirts of the city and the way was blocked by mountains of rubble from collapsed buildings. Everything on the outskirts reeked of the offline, of the corruption within the city which had once stood so proud.

Sideswipe frame was heaving by the time he reached the femme's hideout in an effort to try and cool the overheating systems. The twin walked into the alcove and stood in the entrance way. The slim but sturdy frame of his contact sat staring off into space as usual. Off to the side of the small area stood a crude set of cabinets made from warped metal. Inside were stacks upon stacks of energon cubes of all different grades and styles.

Sideswipe had peeked into the cabinet once and was stunned by the sheer volume of the liquid she possessed. Being able to make energon for oneself was a skill that was invariably priceless in their current situation. The twin toyed with the idea of getting the femme to teach him how to make energon but always dismissed the though due to the fact that it would be rude and he couldn't be sure that she would actually teach him properly.

The femme had a twisted sense of humour and she would most likely find it hilarious to find out he had offlined after making and consuming some sort of energon variant she had taught him. No, it would be better just trading minerals with her for some safe energon. It wasn't worth the risk of offlining.

"Ahh, there you are my darling. Come in, come in. I've made you some energon. It's sitting over there," the femme said in a dreamy voice, gesturing vaguely to the back of the alcove where she kept orders. Sideswipe wasn't her only customer but certainly one of the more valuable ones.

"Yes, I have your minerals for you. I won't be back for another fifteen orns though." Sideswipe replied, wanting to get through the exchange quickly. If he didn't she would want to talk for joors and he simply wanted to get back and curl up to recharge. He and Sunstreaker had started spending less and less time together and it was wearing him down.

His twin was hiding something from him just as much as he was hiding this business from Sunstreaker. It irked him to think that Sunstreaker could have secrets of his own to do with anything. Sideswipe was so used to his twin being open about everything that it had shocked him when Sunstreaker had become withdrawn and sulky.

"Very good, very good dear..." the femme said before mumbling under her breath. Sideswipe didn't try to decipher whatever it was she was saying to herself as it just wasn't worth the effort.

He moved towards the back of the alcove, sensors on high alert. Sideswipe did not want to be caught unawares trapped at the back of her residence. He valued his life and would much rather return to his twin than stay trapped here.

The femme didn't even notice him as he retrieved the cube and returned to the entrance to the area. She seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, what they were Sideswipe couldn't discern. The femme didn't acknowledge that she heard Sideswipe's goodbye as he left her and began his journey back across the city.

Walking a little ways away from the alcove Sideswipe stopped to place the energon in his subspace. It wouldn't do to walk across the city with it in his hand but it was always uncomfortable filling his subspace with different things. Sideswipe wished he knew how to expand his subspace or at least alter it to fit more into it. As it was he would have to live with the small subspace compartment and just make do with the situation.

Sideswipe scrambled over the rubble of collapsed buildings before returning to the dimly lit streets of downtown Kaon. The alleyways were full of bots but no one paid any attention to the twin as he made his way back towards the upper end of Kaon.

Every night he would take a different route, change up a couple of the alleyways he would walk down. Sometimes he would just walk across the remaining roofs of buildings, staying above the action of the other bots.

Tonight though he used a circuitous route, avoiding most of the lively alleyways he would usually stick to. Where he was aiming for there should be no bots whatsoever and so less of a likelihood to get into a scuffle.

Turning one of the corners Sideswipe walked straight into a fight, unsuspectingly. Straight in front of him were a large group of mining mechs and standing within the circle they made were two femmes and three street mechs. The mechs protecting the femmes didn't have any good armour and were being pounded on unmercifully.

The twin tried to slowly walk backwards, get out of the area before they saw him. Unfortunately for him one of the femmes spotted the movement and yelled out. The attention of two of the mining mechs suddenly ended up upon him. This was not going to go down well.

There was no way he could run, they'd catch him much too quickly and his punishment would be that much worse. Instead he stood there, trembling slightly. Neither of the twins had ever ended up in a scuffle with mining mechs before and his armour was so weak it wouldn't offer him any protection whatsoever.

One of the mining mechs started to advance on him, filling up all of Sideswipe's line of sight. It seemed as though the sides of the alley were closing him in, leaving him nowhere to turn. The figure in front of him just kept coming and the twin tried not to flinch as he imagined the damage that was coming.

Just astro-seconds later a servo was smashing into his shoulder. Energon and coolant lines ripped and his plating buckled. There was a sickening crunch and snap as the sensor lines throughout his shoulder snapped. Pain flared up through every sensor and his processor reeled.

Following close behind was another servo, even more force put behind the hit. The servo impacted with his helm. Sideswipe was unaware of the scream he let out; his audio's ringing with the impact. His processor began to shut down, the hit damaging it badly. All of his helm armour was collapsed in upon his processor.

Miraculously Sideswipe remained standing, unsteadily. His optics were flickering badly due to the last punch. Slowly his frame was shutting down, putting him into stasis so that his chassis could be repaired. The youngling didn't see the next servo coming as he was forced to the ground. Sideswipe didn't feel anything more as he slipped into stasis.

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I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Would you like it if I posted a daily word count update on my profile?


	6. Finding Sideswipe

Hey Everyone,

I was going to wait for the two reviews but thanks to FractaUmbra with a wonderful review I've decided to update. I'm currently finishing off chapter 11. Going strong right now. Word count to reach today is 26666 so I better get typing. Currently sitting on 25666. Over halfway to my goal soooo going well. Hopefully I'll stay strong and smash through this like I did with Life of a Datsun. Not going to rush the plot, I'm letting the characters tell the story for me. There is a plot though so don't worry. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Mav

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Chapter 6

Sunstreaker wasn't worried, yet. Sideswipe should have been back joors ago but occasionally his twin was delayed when coming back from the other side of town. Sunstreaker just couldn't go into recharge without knowing how his twin was. There was an ache in his helm and he didn't know what it was from.

Something didn't feel right but the withdrawn twin couldn't be certain that it was anything to do with Sideswipe. Sunstreaker was just going to wait, sitting in their usual shelter. If Sideswipe wasn't back by two joors into the night cycle he was going in search of him.

In the end Sunstreaker didn't wait until two joors into the night cycle. By the time night cycle came he was desperate to find his twin. There was no doubt in his processor that Sideswipe was injured somewhere. Sunstreaker's spark was humming uncomfortable in his chest and the bond was eerily dampened.

With quick, desperate pedesteps the twin started off through the streets. Running through the alleyways he searched for Sideswipe. He got more and more desperate as each alleyway yielded no result. It seemed to be that his twin hadn't gotten anywhere close to their meeting spot last night cycle.

Each and every pedestep thudded against the ground, seemingly in time with the pulses of his spark. Although he wouldn't admit it to anyone, including his twin Sunstreaker was worried. His spark was spinning and dancing in his chest and it made him just a little nauseous.

Sunstreaker couldn't focus on the idea that Sideswipe was offline. If he was then Sunstreaker would be following close behind soon enough, that much he could take comfort in. However he knew, just knew that his twin was online somewhere.

Through more and more alleyways Sunstreaker ran, trying desperately to find his lost twin. Sometimes he would get a flicker of awareness over the bond but more often than not it only lasted a mere second. It didn't help him figure out how close he was to his twin but it did enough to reassure him slightly.

On and on Sunstreaker went, getting further away from their meeting spot and closer towards the absolute slums of the city. Down this way there was nothing, nothing but ruins. It was not a good place to be but Sideswipe seemed to like exploring down this way. Why, Sunstreaker had no clue but he sure as pit knew that if his twin was anywhere it would be down this way.

It was sheer luck that he stumbled across the alleyway where Sideswipe lay. Standing at the top of the alleyway Sunstreaker stood stock still. His optics swept over the carnage that lay in front of him. Five frames lay unmoving on the ground, front and centre. Two were femme frames, covered in old energon. There had been a struggle here and a desperate fight for freedom.

The sight almost made Sunstreaker spew his tank but luckily he spotted another frame off to the side, distracting him from his nausea. It was smaller than the rest, sprawled across the ground with limbs at odd angles.

Sick to his tanks Sunstreaker carefully walked over, avoiding stepping on the limbs of any of the other bots. He didn't not want to have that spilt energon anywhere near his chassis thank you very much. As the frame began to take form Sunstreaker shuddered.

The frame was his twin, beaten brutally. His helm had collapsed in and the outline of a servo could clearly be seen in the dim light of the alleyway. Whoever had done this was obviously much larger than his twin. With an accurate guess Sunstreaker could say that it was a couple of mining mechs who really didn't care about anyone from the streets. If anything they were looking for a couple of femmes to interface with. Sideswipe must have just walked along at a very inopportune time.

Sunstreaker stepped over and knelt beside his twin, taking in the rest of the damage. Energon leaked slowly from the broken energon lines in his twin's shoulder, pooling on the ground beneath him. Sideswipe's whole shoulder was torn, the armour non-existent. His torso was a mess of energon and collapsed plating. All across his frame were the marks of violence, servo prints everywhere.

Anger swelled up inside Sunstreaker, anger against anyone who would dare hurt his twin in such a way. His frame began to tremble with the sheer hatred that filled him. His spark stopped it's spinning, instead it seemed to vibrate inside with the anger.

It was a relief to find his twin but now Sunstreaker started to worry about how he was going to get his twin back to their hiding spot and get him repaired. With no medics in the city it would be up to him to do something for his twin. Maybe there were some materials around to patch his frame with.

Running a servo lightly over his twin's chassis he rested it against the non-injured side of Sideswipe's helm. Maybe it would be a good idea to get his twin conscious. It would be easier to get him back to their hiding spot if he was aware, even if he could barely stand. A dead weight was always heavier than a live one.

Sideswipe was aware of pain, all through his frame. He felt disconnected from everything, cocooned within his mind. Surely there was something important he was meant to be doing, something he shoud remember. Nothing particularly mattered right now though, it could wait till later.

It seemed though that someone else really wanted him awake. Sideswipe could feel warmth against his cheekplates, resting there and trying not to create pain. It wasn't like it was doing anything, the pain just kept coming. The pain came from everywhere, his helm, his shoulder and his legs. Why was all the pain there?

Slowly Sideswipe became aware of his surroundings, of what was going on around him. The warmth, that was a servo and the pain that was from a fight. He tried to get his optics to flicker on, to get a view around him but nothing happened, he couldn't see anything. Sideswipe began to panic, unable to see anything. Who was here by his side? Was he about to be injured more?

A voice registered to his foggy processor, it sounded eerily similar to that of his twin. No way was Sunstreaker here, he was meant to be somewhere else...at their meeting spot. They weren't meant to meet for another couple of joors.

"Sides, it's me Sunstreaker. It's okay, I'm here. Everything is going to be fine okay? Can you hear me?" the voice repeated, over and over again.

Sideswipe finally registered the words, he tried to respond but he couldn't say anything. Eventually he managed a grunt. It wasn't very loud but at least it was something. Whether or not Sunstreaker had actually heard he had no clue.

Sunstreaker felt so relieved when he heard Sideswipe grunt. His twin was conscious, even if he apparently couldn't see. This was something; they would be able to get out of here eventually. It was never safe to stay anywhere for long and here they were out in the open. There was not protection for them from anything so any prying optic would be able to see them.

"Come on Sideswipe, you're fine. Try to use your vocaliser Sides, try to talk to me. You're going to be okay," Sunstreaker said, carefully watching his twin.

Sideswipe heard the reply. His processor was starting to kick into gear; he could understand more of what was going on around him. This was good, he was getting somewhere now. He tried again to say something, to get his vocaliser to work.

This time he managed to faintly say "Sunstreaker" but it certainly wasn't loud enough for proper communication. He could only just barely hear it himself and Sunstreaker would have an even harder time understanding what he said.

Trying yet again Sideswipe managed to get out a sentence. "Sunstreaker...there was some mechs here." It didn't matter that the sentence was technically incorrect; he had managed to say something.

"Good work Sides, you're doing great. Do you reckon we can get you sitting up? We need to get out of this alleyway," Sunstreaker said, heightening his sensors. Something was going on a couple of blocks over and he wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible.

"Uh, maybe Sunny. It just hurts so much," Sideswipe said voice still faint.

Sideswipe gritted his denta, knowing that this would not be a fun venture. If it hurt this much just o lie down what was it going to be like once he was sitting up?

"Sunny, you're going to have to help me. There is no way I can get up by myself."

"Okay Sides, let's just do this slowly okay."

Sunstreaker slipped his hands underneath Sideswipe's back, ready to help lift his upper body. Sideswipe clenched his fists and slowly eased his way into a sitting position. His whole chassis was on fire, everywhere there was pain, flooding his processor. It hurt so much. A grunt escaped his sealed lip plates as the pain became too much for him.

Sunstreaker cursed under his breath, hating the way Sideswipe was. Usually he was so tough and easy-going it was hard to see him like this, vulnerable. The withdrawn twin hated the fact that he had to take a hand in hurting his own twin. Aiding him and forcing him to sit up was causing so much pain for Sideswipe.

"Just give me a breather Sunstreaker. I'll try standing up in a minute," Sideswipe stated breathlessly, taking a couple of deep vents in order to get rid of the pain.

"Take a couple of seconds Sides. I'm sorry to have to keep hounding you but we really need to get going. Some bots are coming this way and we certainly don't want to get caught up in whatever is going on over there."

Sideswipe grimaced. This just wasn't his orn. He knew how vulnerable they were here, especially with how injured he seemed to be. Usually they would just escape into a garbage chute when danger approached. When the coast was clear they would climb out and continue on their way. He knew without a doubt that he wouldn't be able to go down a chute; the fall would likely offline him.

Sunstreaker glanced towards the top of the alleyway and was thankful that it was clear of any bots. They needed to move now, lest they be caught.

"Sides, we need to get going now."

"Okay Sunny, help me up okay?"

Sunstreaker put his arms around Sideswipes shoulders as they moved into a standing position. Sideswipe let out a hiss of pain. The twin almost collapsed as his legs crumbled beneath him, Sunstreaker the only thing keeping him upright.

"C'mon Sides, you can do this."

Sideswipe gritted his and attempted to make his legs hold his weight. He didn't have any real control over the appendages but he tried his best. Both legs re-established themselves underneath him but Sideswipe didn't know how much help they would be when walking.

"Great work Sides. We're going to try walking now. Just put one pede in front of the other."

"Sunny, I don't know how well I'm going to go," Sideswipe stated, voice sounding as though he were going to break into tears.

"It doesn't matter Sides, we'll get to our place eventually. Just try your best."

The outgoing twin strengthened his resolved and prepared to take his first step. His supporting leg almost buckled as he took a step forwards but he caught himself just in time. Continuing the pattern he started walking slowly with Sunstreaker at his side. Each step was excruciating but they needed to get going and he knew that.

Each step he took made it seem like he was about to fall but he was steadily making ground. Sunstreaker had his arm around Sideswipe's hip to support him as they made a slow journey back towards their hideout.

It seemed to take forever, retracing Sunstreaker's footsteps from earlier. He might of thought it took forever to get to Sideswipe but now it took twice as long to go back. They just barely missed running into the bots from the other alleyway as the group was where they had been only minutes before.

With great relief the two twins spotted their hideout. The solar star was beginning to rise over the city as Sideswipe was lowered to the ground. It had taken them a full half orn to get back to their hiding spot.

The wound in Sideswipe's side was leaking energon at a much faster rate now, the movement having opened up the gash. The outgoing twin was propped up against a small pile of rubble and was leaning his helm back. Vents heaved with the effort of keeping the twin cool. In amongst his injuries were severs to his coolant lines.

Sunstreaker sat there worrying his lip plates. Sideswipe wasn't going to last long with these injuries but he had no clue how to fix them. Maybe his twin knew where some sheet metal was or anythign else that may be of use right now.

He would have to get Sideswipe to consume a bit of energon. Not a whole heap because they didn't have much to spare but at least a little to keep his systems going. At this rate it was likely that his twin had little or no energon left in his system.

"Sides, you can't go into recharge. How about you have a bit of energon to drink," Sunstreaker said in his most soothing voice.

"Uhh," Sideswipe moaned, fairly unresponsive.

"C'mon Sides. I've got a bit of energon here," Sunstreaker taunted as he pulled the cube of energon from his subspace.

Sideswipe shifted his head in response. He didn't want any energon, he just wanted to recharge. He was so tired after walking so far and if he recharged then he wouldn't feel the pain. That would be bliss.

Suddenly Sunstreaker's servo was behind his back, levering him into full sitting position. He felt the energon cube pressed to his lipplates and weakly tried to turn away from it. If he didn't have the energon then maybe he could sleep.

"Sides, you need the energon. I'm not going to let you recharge until you have some."

The energon cube was once again at his lips. Cautiously he opened his lip plates and felt a little of the cool liquid glide down this throat. He could feel it as it slid through his energon lines and into his tank. Finally noticing how depleted on energon he was Sideswipe attempted to skull the energy source.

Sunstreaker pulled the cube away, knowing that Sideswipe's systems wouldn't be able to handle the large volume of energon. Sideswipe needed to sip the energon, slowly and not have too much. Then, b before he would be allowed to go into recharge they would discuss the situation.

Sideswipe slowly worked his way through half a cube of energon. His systems were trying to drag him into recharge but Sunstreaker annoyingly and persistently kept him online. He just wanted to recharge, to get away from this. Really, energon was that vital.

"Sides, you can go to recharge in a minute but first we have to talk."

"Ngh, I wanna recharge," Sideswipe mumbled, processor already foggy.

"Do you know where any materials are that I could use to fix you? I need to know Sideswipe," Sunstreaker pleaded, desperately trying to keep his twin online.

"Near the old place Sunny...just let me go into recharge."

"Okay Sides, I'll be back. I'm just going to go get the stuff."

Sideswipe didn't even hear the last part of the sentence as he fell into recharge. The pain that had wracked his frame was soothed and his processor no longer received alerts from his sensors.

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Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Review please? Question: What websites accept MA fanfiction stories in this fandom?


	7. Collecting the Materials

G'day Everyone,

Here is chapter seven. Two lovely reviews and the next chapter is posted :). Just beginning chapter 12 as chapter 11 was a bit longer than expected. Goal today is to write 3k as I'm currently sitting on 27067words. Doing well so far. :)

Mav

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Chapter 7

Sunstreaker looked at his twin. No longer was there the tight lines of pain on his face plates, instead it was a look of peace. He stood up slowly and then looked around. Hopefully Sides would be fine until he got back.

Sunstreaker made his way through the streets, sticking to any and all shadows he could find. It was the middle of the day cycle and the enforcers were out in full force. If you knew what was good for you then you didn't move around during this time. The enforcers enjoyed taking bots off of the streets and forcing them into slave labour. It had nothing to do with breaking the rules, only to do with their enjoyment of the situation. None of the enforcers here were even properly trained. The first ones brought into the city might have been but none of the ones currently in employment were.

The enforcers now consisted of corrupted mining mechs who had somehow made it out of the mines fully functioning. Most of them were looking for easy credits and anything not to end up on the streets. None of them cared for the rules or the bots who lived on the streets. All they cared about was their own enjoyment and their own selfish lives.

Sunstreaker loathed the enforcers from the very bottom of his spark. He wished he had a larger frame just so that he could beat the frag out of every one of the selfish glitches. Sometimes his energon boiled just thinking of the self-righteous mechs who plagued the city.

These mechs were the reason everyone hid throughout the orn. The city was dead, oh so dead throughout the day cycle. At night it was alive, even if barely. Kaon was now corrupted and dead and greatly in part to the enforcers.

The doorways hid Sunstreaker, his small frame making it easier for him to blend in. The twin stuck to the sides of the streets where he knew there were garbage chutes, just in case some enforcers did come along. He was making his way into the part of the city where they used to hide.

This area had once been a good hiding spot, well away from the prying eyes of enforcers. However, the creation of a new mine had upped the number of patrols and so it was no longer suitable. After just barely escaping capture the twins had decided upon shifting their meeting place.

So they had shifted their meeting spot, halfway across the city. Since then they had never ventured back there, not wanting to risk getting captured and forced to work in the mine. For them it seemed like the worst fate imaginable. Attempting to survive on the street was better than working in one of those mines.

This one was supposedly the worst on Cybertron, if the rumours were anything to go by. No large quantity of minerals was being brought up but thousands upon thousands of mechs and femmes were offlining working down there. No one survived working in this mine, not one bot. It didn't matter the frame type or their heritage, each and every bot offlined.

There was a sliver of fear in Sunstreaker's spark as he reached the outskirts of the mining district. Overriding it was the desperate need to get the materials and repair Sideswipe. His twin was everything and so he would do anything to get these materials.

It never crossed his mind to go somewhere else to get the materials, to search through all of the garbage dumps. Sideswipe had always done well in finding usable metals and other such things to trade. If Sides said there were good materials here then he was going to get them.

There was not a bot in sight, undoubtedly they were all below ground working or on the other side of the city like any sane bot would be. The ground was scratched and scarred, showing the devastation the mining was doing to the area.

Using the half collapsed walls all around him Sunstreaker crept closer to their old hiding place. The ruins weren't that far away but it would take him a while to get there. Sunstreaker couldn't risk being sloppy, if he was then he would undoubtedly be captured.

Slipping inside the ruins behind him Sunstreaker slithered forward on his stomach. If he kept down low and moved slowly then he wouldn't be spotted by anyone. Despite the appearance of the area there were patrols being run, either by enforcers or employed mechs at the mine.

One arm in front of the other the twin dragged himself forward slowly. Eventually he made it into the ruins where they used to hide. It wasn't all that far from the apartment where they used to live. To think that just two streets away from where they had been brought online was now a mine, so similar to where their creator had offlined.

A glint of metal caught Sunstreaker's optic. Slightly brighter than the rest of the rubble it stood out to his well-trained optic. Moving closer, keeping his helm low he saw that it was a sheet of metal. This must be the materials that Sideswipe was referring to.

Sunstreaker grimaced at the idea of putting the materials into his subspace. It would hurt like hell and probably do a lot of damage but it would be worth it. That is, if he managed to fix Sideswipe up.

Picking up the materials he started to pile them into his subspace. Each extra piece of metal felt as though it was tearing at his insides. There was a burning sensation and then one similar to a ripping within him. It hurt but he persevered. This was all for Sideswipe, his twin.

By the time he had subspaced all the materials Sunstreaker felt as if he were bloated and the constant pain was wearing at him. Lying down on his stomach to crawl his way back to the alleyways did not seem like a very pleasant thing to do.

Gritting his denta much like Sideswipe had previously the withdrawn twin set off on his journey. Each movement was agony but he pushed through it. He only had to do this for another joor and he would be back with Sideswipe.

It was with a silent sigh of relief that he stood up, back on his two pedes. The standing position gave him some room to stretch and took the pressure off of his stomach plating. The pain was minimised slightly but it was a great relief.

Time passed by more slowly as he worked his way back through the city. He couldn't move anywhere near as fast as he could before, the full subspace hindering his movements. Luckily he avoided all of the enforcers because Sunstreaker doubted that he would be able to just throw himself down one of the garbage chutes.

Just as he was nearing Sideswipe's and his hideout Sunstreaker heard loud, overbearing voices. It seemed as though they were coming from where he had left Sideswipe. The twin stopped where he was and withdrew into the shadows of a doorway.

"I betcha there aren't any of those slummy bots over here, they're all hidden down on the other side of town."

"I tell ya, there were some bots here a coupl' a orns ago."

"Yeah well maybe you drank too much high grade again. Primus knows you drink too much ornly."

"Watch your mouth you fragtard, I don't have ta put up with ya."

With that sentence Sunstreaker heard the sounds of a brawl. It seemed as though it wasn't particularly bad, just a bit of a fight between mates. Why the enforcers were here was what Sunstreaker was worried about.

Had it been him and Sunstreaker the enforcer had spotted? Why were they actually bothering to look into sightings here anyways? Usually the enforcers just avoided any type of hard work at all costs. What had changed their point of view?

As Sunstreaker was thinking the sounds of the brawl stopped rather abruptly. The two enforcers either having made up or one of them being injured enough to go into stasis. Sounds of two sets of pedesteps could be heard so it must have been the first option.

Sunstreaker stayed where he was, not moving from the shadows of the doorway. The enforcers might decide to hang around or stake out the area. He couldn't be rash now and risk all the work he had done.

The nightcycle was setting in before the twin moved from his position. The area was hyping up with activity again so the two mechs must have left. All the bots would have stayed in hiding through mutual fear of the enforcement bots.

Moving slowly and quietly so as not to draw attention to himself, Sunstreaker slipped into the open topped ruins. Sideswipe's frame lay unmovingly where he had left him, obviously having not awakened since he left. There was a small amount of energon pooling under his twin but not enough to be alarmed about.

Sunstreaker eventually made it over to his twin and settled down beside him. His chest was aching, either because of the bond or his subspace Sunstreaker didn't know. He did know that seeing his twin lie there, absolutely still, was scaring him.

He knew Sideswipe was going to be okay, that he wasn't offline. Still, the sight of his twin deathly still terrified him. It didn't matter if Sunstreaker himself offlined but for his twin to offline? That just wasn't okay by any stretch of the imagination.

Sunstreaker laid down beside his twin and wrapped his arms around him. He could hear bots moving around outside of the ruins but didn't really mind. So long as they stayed still and out of sight no harm would become either of the twins.

Voices were raised in alarm suddenly, like a group of people at a concert when a band came on stage. What it was Sunstreaker had no clue so he tightened his grip and tried to be even stiller.

"The enforcers, they're rounding up everyone on the other side of the city!" One bot screamed his voice cutting through the mayhem.

Others started to sob while some bots began to scream. It wasn't just the fact that these others were being rounded up; something bad must have been awaiting them.

"I heard that they're taking us all into the mines." A mech said in a conspiratory whisper. The mech sounded as though he was standing right above the twins' heads.

"No, it's for the new rings they are opening up." Another mech objected.

"What rings?" Yet another voice asked.

"The gladiator rings. Supposedly the ancients are building them, beneath the city."

"They expect us to fight? No one here has the frame for that kind of violence."

"It's all I've heard."

The conversation ended there as the mechs parted ways. Whatever the fate was for the bots on the other side of Kaon it was not going to be pleasant. Sunstreaker shivered, fighting to the death or dying within the mines. Neither fate sounded good.

The ancients...could they have been the ones he had being spying on the other orn? The ones within the large atrium right beneath this very city. They had seemed gleeful at the prospect of a fight so he wouldn't put it past those bots.

Sunstreaker had no wish to fight but it would be better than going into the mines. All the weight of the city above him as he worked in the darkness. Dust and grime would seep into his vents, his joints. It would be a slow and painful offlining contributed to by a number of factors.

It was better if he just went into a ring, fought it out to the death. Then at least he wouldn't be in the darkness with so much weight above him. He would be able to see what was offlining him and look the bot in the optics. Yes, if it came to having a choice he would choose the rings.

Sideswipe though, he hated violence. Every time there was a fight his twin would hide away. He didn't know what Sideswipe would want but whatever happened they would stick together. Sunstreaker knew that no matter which eventuality was theirs, it would be okay if they were together.

Sunstreaker continued laying there, the darkness enveloping him like welcoming arms. Night cycle was always safer, always the time where you could relax just slightly. Tonight was no different so as Sunstreaker lay there awake with his twin in his arms he thought about what could lie ahead of them.

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Now there's chapter 7. Did you like it?


	8. Changing Locations

Hey Everyone,

Here is chapter 8 thanks to two lovely reviews. :D Just a reminder that this story is linked to Life of a Datsun. Hope you all enjoy. Story is now at 30400words.

Mav

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Chapter 8

Repairs on Sideswipe's frame were long and tedious. Neither one of the twins had any experience in doing repairs and it wasn't like they had anyone to ask. It took twenty orns to get Sideswipe close to full functioning order.

Every couple of night cycles Sunstreaker would go in search of energon. Most of what he found would be given to Sideswipe with only a little kept for himself. All throughout the streets was the smell of fear. Not one bot was unafraid of the threat which hung over the city.

All the bots on the other side of Kaon had been rounded up. Where, no one knew for sure. It seemed that rumours leaned towards the idea of gladiator pits but it was all speculation. The enforcers set up a sweep of the city, moving in through the different sectors rounding up bots.

On the far side of the city, on the opposite side from the mines there was a road being repaired. No one recognised the bots working on the structure but everyone knew that it couldn't bode anything well, for anyone.

Progress was fast and within ten orns the roadway was complete. The autobarn wasn't opened up yet, apparently the enforcers were waiting for something before that happened. There were rumours everywhere and bots were preparing to attempt to flee the city.

Sunstreaker knew it was unlikely anyone would get out. With the speed the enforcers were moving through Kaon, the city's inhabitants would be rounded up before the road opened.

Sunstreaker would share all the different rumours with Sideswipe after he got back from finding the energon. As they worked on Sideswipe's frame they thought about why there was finally some construction happening and why the spur of the moment decision had happened to create the rings.

Sideswipe seemed to hit the nail on the head one night cycle as they sat in the darkness. His processor was thinking over everything they had heard in the past twenty orns. Gladiator rings were always built for show, to draw crowds. In this city there were no crowds, no one with credits to pay to watch bots killing each other. In other cities there were. Bots had plenty of credits and more often than not they enjoyed watching gruesome shows of destruction. The roadway was being built to connect Kaon to the surrounding cities. With a smooth road to travel on, bots would come from everywhere to watch the battles.

Sideswipe dreaded the idea of going into the rings. Surely he and Sunstreaker would die within an orn of being put in there. Their frames were nothing like those of the mechs and femmes. They had no armour to speak of and if pitted against others in the ring they would be offlined within astroseconds.

Sunstreaker didn't seemed as worried as he was. Actually it seemed as though he was gearing up for the fight. Somewhere along the way Sunstreaker had become a fighter, a bot who wanted to stand up for himself. Sideswipe didn't realise exactly what it was that made his twin think that way.

It had been that moment in the alleyway where Sunstreaker had seen his twin, lying in his own energon. The anger that had built up inside him hadn't dissipated; instead it was just simmering below the surface. He didn't want to let anything or anyone else ever harm his twin like that again.

However he had no real way to protect his twin. It wasn't as if he had some strong frame or great fighting skills. He could run fast enough for a youngling, could scale garbage chutes but none of that meant anything in the city of Kaon.

He needed to be able to fight, to protect his sibling. Somewhere, in the back of Sunstreaker's mind, he thought that by going into the rings he would be able to protect his twin better. Surely they would have to update the twins' armour for them to be of any entertainment value in the rings. The withdrawn twin was confident that he would be able to beat other bots if he just had an armour upgrade.

Sideswipe's frame got to the point where his internal systems would be able to heal his frame. No longer would Sunstreaker have to weld on bits of metal and attempt to splice together his torn wires. The last of the repairs would be done by his systems and then Sideswipe would be fully repaired.

Both twins knew that they needed to start moving, to move into a different sector. The enforcers were bearing down on their area of the city quickly. In the next two orns they would be captured if they didn't move away.

Quietly, in the middle of the night cycle they left. There was no trace that they had ever been stayed in the ruins. The small pool of energon was gone and so were the energon cubes they had consumed. With nothing left to signify their usage of the area the twins set out for another part of the city.

Enforcers now roamed the streets at night so that had to be extra cautious as they headed for sector one. Sector one was the area of Kaon which had first been cleared of bots. It seemed as though the enforcers weren't worrying about researching areas they had already cleared. They would eventually but for the moment they were capturing bots easily enough.

Whether bots just weren't listening to the rumour mill or couldn't be bothered to shift their haunts, the enforcers were doing their job with ease. Hundreds upon hundreds of barely functioning mechs were being captured and taken into custody. Some tried to run and others moved about as Sunstreaker and Sideswipe now were.

Those who didn't care just stayed where they were. Other's with half a processor attempted to escape the city via the newly built roadway. Neither was a particularly smart idea and all the bots ended up captured.

Sunstreaker hoped that by moving around they would avoid being captured, at least for a little while. It would be much harder now to get energon or to relax. At least though, they would be free from the rings or the mines.

The more they put off their capture the more they were putting off their own offlining. Of course offlining wasn't a particularly bad prospect but the way they were to be offlined held no real promise for them both. Being pummelled to death or just dying from system collapse did not sound particularly enticing.

Both twins walked just slightly slower than their usual speed. Sideswipe moved slower due to his healing injuries while Sunstreaker was slower due to his subspace. The pain which had started when he shoved the materials inside hadn't dissipated despite taking out the materials.

Now there was a constant ache, plaguing him throughout his orn. It made it harder to move and no longer were his movements as fluid as they had been previously. It had all been worth it though, nothing was more important than his twin.

They made their way through the city. Everywhere there were the signs of fights, of struggles for freedom. It was clear to see where the enforcers had been and where they hadn't been. The sectors they had cleared had energon stains everywhere with frames lying grey in the alleyways.

Other sectors seemed to be a treasure trove of bots. Lying, standing or sitting they stared around with sightless optics. Each individual caught up in their own thoughts. Some seemed frenzied and others resigned.

The city was preparing itself for the inevitable. Already you could faintly hear the dim hum of machinery on the horizon. Moving towards Kaon was a convoy of construction vehicles. The city was about to be changed drastically.

Although no one knew consciously what was coming the atmosphere showed it all. This place would never be the same again. The hardships every bot had been through here and everything the ruins had seen were about to be erased. Instead a new history was about to be written.

This new history would tell the story of a city built from ashes but little more than a pleasurebot city for the wealthy. Soon the ruins would be destroyed and in their place enterprising high rises to house the rich from Praxus, Iacon and Tyger Pax.

The rings, the underground would be developed further. Lying beneath the facade of the city were the rings, having already been built. The construction vehicles would simply lift the floor of Kaon to reveal the gladiator rings. The bots who would fight there already being prepared for their inevitable fate.

Kaon was about to change and the twins were going to witness it all.

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Bit of a short one and sorry about that. Chapters 11 and 12 are very long though. Review please?


	9. Captured

Hey Everyone,

Only had one review so far but i decided to post a celebratory chapter today. The story is now 40000 words on my computer :D. Thanks to FractaUmbra for her lovely review. I no longer have any clue what chapter I am up to, only that is is quite far ahead of everything right now. It seems so long ago that I wrote this chapter. I'm writing my time conversions up on my profile so that you can take a look if I get you confused. I do it a little differently to wikipedia. Now enjoy the chapter.

Mav

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Chapter 9

Sideswipe's pedes hit the ground with speed. His frame was rocketing through space, the air gliding over him. Somewhere behind was a group of enforcers, hot on his trail. Sunstreaker was somewhere else, running to save himself.

The twin pushed himself to go faster. The corners whizzed by as he continued running. Sideswipe had no plan; all he knew was that he had to get away. The enforcers had been closing in over the past few orns.

Very few bots remained free within the city. The construction vehicles had arrived and started rebuilding part of the city. The enforcers focused their attention back on the slums. They had gotten reinforcements from other cities.

Now, they greatly outnumbered the free bots here. There were enough enforcers to comb the entire city at one time. It had only been a matter of orns before they captured every bot. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe knew it was inevitable but they couldn't help but try to get away.

They continued moving from place to place, just barely escaping capture each and every time. Today though, they were just so exhausted that they had settled down for a nap. Sunstreaker was on guard while Sideswipe settled down to get some recharge. The enforcers had closed in on them swiftly. The withdrawn twin almost didn't notice them until he heard the loose rattle of stone in the alleyway.

The two had been up and running before they knew it. Legs moved with speed they had never known while pedes pounded against the harsh ground. The twins split up as per their plan. Sunstreaker had disappeared to the left and Sideswipe to the right.

So now Sideswipe was being chased through the winding alleyways by mechs who were twice his side and much better fuelled. He pushed his frame for even more speed. Sideswipe knew he wouldn't be able to sustain this rate for long but he could at least try.

The only sound he could hear was the noise of his vents as they heaved air into his overworked systems. There were probably sounds of enforcers following him but he couldn't hear them whatsoever. The only thing that mattered was running, putting one pede in front of the other.

Sideswipe skidded around the corner and picked up speed. Behind him the enforcers followed much less nimbly. There was one thing to be said about having a smaller frame. Those with smaller frames were generally more nimble and thus corners were the twin's best friend.

Twisting and turning through the alleyways Sideswipe managed to stay a couple of steps ahead of the enforcers. The twin thought he was pulling ahead of his pursuers because he couldn't hear them. Sideswipe realised he was wrong when a frame darted out in front of him, arms colliding with his chassis.

The twin fell to the ground, impact stunning him. It was an enforcer, he had been captured. Sideswipe was in a haze as the mech turned him onto his stomach and pinned his arms behind him. Somewhere in the back of his processor Sides wished that his twin was still free, avoiding the enforcers.

In his spark though he knew. Sunstreaker could probably sense his dread over the bond. He would undoubtedly realise that Sideswipe had been capture. The withdrawn twin would give in to capture in order to stay with him.

A tear slipped from Sideswipe's optic as he realised that he was the reason Sunstreaker would be captured.

Sunstreaker was flying around the corners. His sole intent was to lead as many enforcers away from his twin as possible. He didn't particularly mind the idea of going into the rings. The anger which had stayed inside him had festered and fighting against others would give him an outlet.

Sideswipe however hated the idea of the gladiator rings, resented the idea of fighting. Sunstreaker figured it would be something he would be good at but he wanted to save his twin from ever having to fight. His twin deserved not to have to; they had been through so much.

Sunstreaker pushed his chassis to the limit in order to protect his twin. Each step he took was to lead the enforcers away and give his twin more of a chance. The speed he pushed his chassis to was all for his brother.

Behind him were the sounds of pursuit. His vents were oddly quiet as he ran. Why his systems weren't struggling he had no clue but he continued to push himself. Jumping over parts of ruins and dodging through alleyways he led the entourage further and further away.

Judging by the noise there was at least four mechs behind him, following him on this wild goose chase. Hopefully more had come to follow him than follow Sideswipe.

Sunstreaker slowed down just a tad, realising he was pulling well ahead of the enforcers. If the mechs kept him in sight then they would be that much more motivated. As soon as they caught up Sunstreaker was off again.

It seemed to the enforcers as though this youngling was a professional runner. They had been trained for pursuits but still they weren't catching up to the small framed mech. Their superior frames which were much better fuelled were lagging behind this tiny excuse for a Cybertronian.

They continued on, persevering with the task. They would be able to out distance the youngling. He wouldn't be able to keep this up but they could keep running all orn if that is what it took. With renewed determination the four mechs continued on, all thinking with the same mind.

Sunstreaker spared a quick glance behind him to make sure that there were still four mechs there. One might decide to cut around through the alleyways and cordon him off. That would be quite unfortunate but if he spotted it soon enough he would be able to manoeuvre his way out of the trap.

A quick head count and he knew all four mechs were behind him. They weren't the brightest bunch for sure. Just keep running and eventually they would get him. Surely it would be a better idea to use some processor to catch him rather than run their systems down?

Never mind, it wasn't his duty to question their every action. Maybe these mechs were just plain stupid. Putting on another burst of speed Sunstreaker continued on. One alleyway blurred into the next.

Sunstreaker started to lead the enforcers round in circles. Wide circles but circles all the same. The mechs following him seemed confused as to where they were, so much the better. The twin knew his way around this city and he was certainly going to use it to his advantage.

As he continued on a feeling of dread shot across the bond. Sunstreaker didn't even break stride as he started to assess what the feeling was about. Strong waves of regret flooded through his system and the withdrawn twin realised what had happened.

Sideswipe had been captured by the mechs. Sunstreaker sobbed as he continued to run. Slowly he cut back on the speed. He made it seem as though he was having difficulty sustaining the run. There were no tears falling from his optics as he smoothly stopped.

Leaning over and pretending to pant the twin watched as the enforcers moved towards him. Sideswipe had been captured so now he himself would be. His twin was not about to go through this alone. Whatever they did they did together.

The enforcers surrounded him and pushed him to the ground. Cuffs came around his wrists and he didn't bother to struggle. Soon he would be back with his twin and then they would deal with whatever came their way.

Sideswipe was hauled from the ground and forced to start walking. Only two mechs stayed with him, the rest left in search of other bots. His arms were pinned tightly against his chassis and his captors set a cracking pace.

Neither of the enforcers seemed to care what condition they delivered him in. They dragged him over the ground when Sideswipe couldn't keep up with their fast pace. They retraced their footsteps back to the central meeting area in this part of Kaon.

Sunstreaker was being similarly treated. The enforcers pushing him around were talking loudly, throwing nasty comments at each other. It seemed as though these two had worked together before and didn't particularly like one another.

Off to his left Sunstreaker could see another couple of bots being pulled along just like him. Two were crying, their sobs echoing through the empty streets. Another was just staring into space, far removed from what was going on around him.

The twins caught a glimpse of each other as they entered the square. They were kept apart by the enforcers and taken into two different holding rings.

These small steel enclosures had been hastily built within the last joor. Although built within a small time frame the walls stood steady against any assault thrown at them.

A few bots tried to climb out and were brutally punished for their efforts. The enforcers enjoyed seeing the pain on their captives face plates. Sunstreaker wasn't going to bother to try to escape; it would only bring these bots glee.

All around him were the others who had survived for so long. In this round up there would be no one left on the streets, they were the last. There were blank face plates everywhere. Those who had been crying were now clear opticed and just sitting disconsolately.

Sideswipe was surrounded by similar bots. No one looked up or met the optics of another. Each and every one of them knew what was coming. There were no alliances, no one to turn to now. You were on your own.

Two large vehicles glided into the square. They were like large carrier vehicles. Undoubtedly they had been acquired from Iacon, most probably decommissioned transport vehicles.

The backs of the vehicles opened up. A screeching noise filled the area and the attention of all the bots was brought to bear on these two people carriers. There was no real reaction, no murmur or screams. No one cared anymore.

Sideswipe looked over at the enforcers. They seemed to be preparing to move all of the captives onto the massive and bulky obstructions. More metal grating was brought out from the belly of the beasts.

The metal was brought to make walk ways. Everything was being done to ensure that these mechs and femmes didn't escape again. It was time to finish this up and get the rings in order.

Within orns there would be the first battles in the main gladiator ring. The crowds would flock to Kaon from all over Cybertron. This broken and barren city would be turned into a hive activity.

The square was silent except for the drone of the large carrier vehicles as the bots were loaded on. Some mechs had to be forced to their feet, so disconnected from the world they were. Sunstreaker hung towards the back of the crowd for no real reason.

Everyone seemed so dejected, so out of it all. Surely it wouldn't be that bad. Already these bots' spirit was broken. What hope did they have now of surviving if they had already given up?

The enforcers greedy eyes stayed fixed on all of the bots. Each and every one loaded onto the aircraft meant another cube of energon for his team. It may not have been the right thing to do but it meant that he got his energon each orn.

Sideswipe was one of the first upon the shuttle from his pen. They were all like cattle being led to the slaughter. Dejected forms followed behind him. The steep ramp caused all of them to start venting hard.

There were no seats inside so everyone settled onto the ground again. The roof of the shuttle was well over their helms. The room was like a cavern, every noise was amplified within it.

The enforcers followed behind the trailing bots onto the shuttle. The metal was pulled in behind them. This was it, their last glimpse of freedom as they were whisked towards the holding area.

The ramp slowly moved into locked position before the craft started moving, gradually rising above the infrastructure of the city. Everywhere around Sideswipe was dark, pitch black. A sense of foreboding settled over him as his refuge was left in the distance.

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Here we go. We're off on an adventure now. Review please?


	10. Cages

Hey Everyone!

Here is Chapter Ten of A Hell on Cybertron. Thanks to Searece and Fracta Umbra you have your next chapter. I hope you all enjoy this. I need 2 more reviews before the next chapter comes up, especially considering it's a nice long one. :) Off to write some more now with a goal of 45000 words for tonight.

Mav

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Chapter 10

Sunstreaker sat looking at where he supposed the floor would be if he could actually see. The hum of the engines reverberated through the room. Small quivering movements rocked the shuttle and travelled through his frame. The enforcers had disappeared from his sight as soon as the ramp closed but he knew they were no longer in this section of the ship. Their footsteps had sounded heavy and clunky as the group retreated towards the front of the shuttle.

It wouldn't be a long ride that much he knew. Where exactly they were going he didn't know but it didn't particularly matter. He was at the whim of whoever was running this show. All around him the bots were quiet. Would he be up against these mechs in the rings? Would these other bots be his very first opponents?

If they were Sunstreaker knew he would be able to take down at least a couple of them. None of them seemed to have the will to fight. He did. That would make the most difference in the ring. Those who didn't wish to fight would be picked off in the very first rounds. The fighters would stay. 'It's likely the audience won't even get to see the ones that have no will to fight' Sunstreaker mused. There will probably be preliminary rounds before the audiences arrive.

Sunstreaker knew he had to convince Sideswipe to want to fight, to have that will to get through it all. Sideswipe hadn't been acting like he had any fight in him. Really he was acting similarly to all the mechs around him. Hopefully his twin would change his attitude slightly.

Sideswipe was contemplating the same thing where he was. He didn't want to fight, at all. However, he would have to unless he wanted to be offlined. Of course, he wouldn't really mind being offlined but it would drag Sunstreaker with him. That wasn't acceptable.

Such thoughts ran through both of the twin's processors as the shuttles continued on to their destination. Everywhere below there were the signs of rebuilding. Crews were working all through the downtown area. Already high rises had gone in, changing the skyline of Kaon.

None of the bots could see it though. Closed off from everything in the steel tub they got closer and closer to their doom. The atmosphere in the shuttles was thick and ripe with grief.

The hum and whirr of the engines changed to a rattle as the shuttles settled down onto the ground. There was a moment of absolute silence before the enforcers returned. Their heavy pedesteps were the main sound before orders started being barked.

"Get those prisoners out of here. Holding cell four is free now," yelled a voice.

"Sir." Came the reply.

The ramp was slowly let down as all of the bots were roused from their positions. In front of them the light began to pour in. It wasn't natural light, instead it was all artificial. The harshness of the illumination had all of the captives shielding their optics.

Sunstreaker tried to catch a glimpse of what lay ahead of them. A sharp intake of breath was all that the bots around him heard as Sunstreaker looked out onto their new home. All around were bots, most of them with shiny plating and extravagant chassis'.

Each bot was running around frantically, obviously with their own duty to fulfil. There was no one standing idle, everyone had something to do. Enforcers stood around overseeing everything that went on. There was no sign of the bots who had been pulled from the streets.

Sunstreaker was forced from the shuttle alongside all the other mechs and femmes. The cacophony of civilisation flooded his audio receivers. He craned his helm around trying to see everything that was around him.

To his left was a walkway which led to a tunnel. He couldn't see where the tunnel led as there was a wall blocking everything to that side. The roof sloped down on an odd angle making him wonder what was above it.

To the right were what looked like repair bays for giant mechs and femmes. Sunstreaker realised just how small he was as he was almost caught up under one mech's pedes. Neither of the twins had ever used to notice such things but now in this large crowd he realised how much his size impacted everything.

Maybe they would be getting new frames but Sunstreaker seriously doubted it. The two would just have to find a way to beat their much larger and robust opponents.

The steady stream of bots was guided towards a large stairwell. The lighting was just as good here as it was in the larger room. There was a surge of bots towards the stairs and Sunstreaker felt himself get dragged along with the crowd.

Down and down the stairs they all went. The lighting slowly got dimmer the lower they got. Some bots stumbled and fell as the group was herded faster. Sunstreaker managed to maintain his footing and avoid being trampled at the same time.

He had no clue where Sideswipe was. His twin was here somewhere, in between the masses of bots. It would be impossible to find him now so they would just have to wait and meet up later.

At the bottom of the stairs there was a large passageway. All along the passageway were enforcers directing bots into different cages. Sunstreaker stopped to peer through the bars of the nearest cage and what saw him terrified him.

Off into the distance were rows upon rows of cages. Everywhere there were bots. Most laid upon the ground and a few huddled into small balls. There were blank looks everywhere. The scariest thing though was seeing the frames all of these bots had.

In place of the normal frames found in Kaon were ginormous sturdy frames that seemed purposely designed for the rings. None of the mechs from the city had ever had this kind of chassis. Either these were mechs brought in from Iacon or Praxus or everyone was being reformatted.

Spotting an enforcer heading his way Sunstreaker melted back into the crowd. It wouldn't be a good idea to stand out from the rest here. So long as you didn't anger the guards you would be okay. Hopefully.

Sideswipe was in the middle of the crowd. From back to front and side to side he was in the middle. There were no other small frames in the group or at least that's what it seemed like. Everyone around Sideswipe towered over him.

There was no way he could attempt to get out of this mass of bodies to even catch a glimpse of what was surrounding the passageway. The twin couldn't even spot the enforcers that he knew must be down here guiding everyone.

All he could feel were the jostling chassis all around him and the sound of thousands of footsteps was all around. The passageway seemed cramped and crowded. Undoubtedly the area had been built for so many and such a rush of bots. Still, it seemed as if everything was closing in on the twin, as if the passageway was about to crush him.

From either side the crowd seemed to thin. The enforcers were directing parts of the crowd into cells on either side of the expansive passageway. Being in the middle meant that Sideswipe wasn't one of the first to get swept to the side. Instead he didn't end up being put into a cell until well at the end of the passageway.

Just before being shoved into the confined area of the cage Sideswipe cast a look back at where he had come from. There were few bots in sight, most of them already in cages. Sunstreaker was nowhere to be seen.

The enforcer shoved Sideswipe hard against his back, catapulting the small youngling to the floor. None of the mechs or femmes already in the cell bothered to help him up, each too lost in their own thoughts.

Sunstreaker sat in the cell he had been put in. Everyone in the cell was downcast, their shoulders hunched over and body language dejected. Everyone continued to stay silent, to just let themselves stand alone in a sea of other bots.

Sunstreaker hadn't been able to spot Sideswipe as he was shoved into this cell. The twin wondered where his brother was and if he was okay. What if the enforcers were going to beat them all to a pulp and Sideswipe was one of the first to go?

The withdrawn sat there stewing with his thoughts, hating what could be happening to his twin now that they weren't together. Maybe they would never end up together again. The thought was so terrifying that Sunstreaker had to put it at the back of his mind. He had to believe that they would end up together again otherwise there wasn't any point in anything.

The enforcers which had escorted all the bots in stood facing the cells. Their faceplates were devoid of any emotion but their optics glinted with malice. These enforcers weren't even bots. They were drones who enjoyed hurting and maiming.

The mechs stood there, unmoving for a couple of minutes before moving away. They moved in a coordinated stream towards the stairwell they had all just descended. The bright lights which had illuminated everything flickered off and everything was bathed in darkness.

From everywhere around came whispering. The sound was harsh and grating, coming from every direction. Sunstreaker squinted to try and see who it was that was talking. Upon close inspection it was no one in his cell. Who else was it that he could hear so clearly?

Deciding that listening in would give him some more clues Sunstreaker switched off his optics. He found that if he shut down one of his sensor nets the other ones became heightened. The sound which had seemed like a buzz before became more distinguished.

The voices were coming from above him but wasn't that where the roof was? Not switching his optics back on Sunstreaker started focusing.

"We've got another couple of orns before we get sent in," A low voice whispered.

"That's not going to last very long. We're doomed," Another replied. The two voices seemed awfully similar to those of the bots he had heard on the streets before.

"Stop with that slag would you? Can't we at least put it out of our processors for a bit?" A voice cut in, obviously fed up with their pessimistic opinions.

"It's just the truth. Did you think they gave us all a new frame and a buff just to keep us hidden?" the first voice replied venomously.

"No but I don't need our fate rattling around in my helm. These bots have the right idea, zoning out like this," the third voice said, sounding very dejected.

"If we make it through the first round we'll still be online. All we have to do is keep winning," A calm voice added.

"You sound so relaxed. How can you be when our lives are on the line?"

"Haven't our lives always been on the line? Only now we can see the opponent coming," the calm mech replied.

Sunstreaker thought about what this mech said. It was true wasn't it? They never knew what was going to take their lives on the street but the time for offlining was approaching at an ever increasing rate. At least now they could see it coming and fight to stay online. They had a chance now, when they hadn't before.

These mechs had obviously had upgrades. It seemed as though they had been given fighting style frames. This would certainly work to the twins' advantage if they got accustomed to their new chassis' quick enough. On the downside they weren't used to an adult chassis never mind a heavily loaded one like a battle frame.

If they learnt quick enough they would improve their odds in the rings. With Primus by their side they would get through this. Eventually there would be an opportunity to escape but where would they go?

Neither of them had anything and no one to contact out of Kaon. If all the cities had law enforcements such as theirs it was likely that as soon as they escaped they would be thrown into a prison somewhere else. It didn't look like a particularly bright idea to Sunstreaker. Their options, dismal options, were to stay and fight and die or stay, fight and live on to fight again.

Sunstreaker's optics flickered on and he looked upwards. Instead of a solid roof like he had been expecting there were bars, crossed bars. It was very similar to the walls on either side of him. Staring upwards in awe he saw that there were cages upon cages stacked above him. Not only did this prison span a massive distance in length and width it also had considerable depth.

Someone had put a lot of thought into planning this layout. There was no way the plans had been a spur of the moment thing, they were much too detailed. It seemed as though whoever was in charge wanted to do the job thoroughly if he was going to do it.

The twin's mind turned to another factor. Where had the initial money come for the new frames? There had been no fights yet so no money was being made. There must be an investor from outside Kaon unless it was the ancients arranging it all. They were the only bots with any substantial money in the city.

Sunstreaker contemplated talking to the mechs above him but upon studying their frames decided against it. They had seemed nice enough from their conversation but they had also seemed desperate. If he irritated them just the slightest bit they would undoubtedly make him an enemy.

Instead the twin sat on the floor and gazed into the corridor next to him. No one on their level was talking but now that he was aware of the other floors above him, Sunstreaker could hear that many other bots were talking.

Sunstreaker tried to look across into other cages around him as he curled up in the corner of the cage. He hoped to see Sideswipe sitting somewhere across from him. Just catching a glimpse would give him some courage, some reassurance. Despite not being overly worried the twin was craving just a glimpse of a twin.

Although they were used to being separated a lot in the search for energon they had never been separated like this. Forcefully. It wasn't their choice to be separated and they always dealt with everything better together.

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There's chapter ten. Review please?


	11. Frames

Hey Everyone,

Here is chapter 11! Two great reviews for the last chapter and it's pretty amazing as i have had over 1k of hits to all my stories this month. I hope you are all enjoying this story and I'd love to hear some more feedback from you all. I think I'm up to chapter 17 at the moment on my computer so slowly you guys are catching up to me. Didn't make it to 45k last night but did get to 42k. Not writing tonight, just taking a break. I'm ahead of the game and only 8k more words to go until I officially complete nano!

Hope you all enjoy,

Mav

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Chapter 11

Sideswipe was startled out of his own thoughts by an enforcer coming up to the door of his cell. The other bots in the cell barely stirred, sitting listlessly in varying positions. The twin's optics focused on the enforcer, knowing that the mech hadn't come from the same direction the others had gone to.

Through the darkness Sideswipe could make out the outlines of enforcers standing in front of the cells across from them. It seemed as though these mechs were preparing to take them somewhere. Each mech stood still, impossibly still. They must have been awaiting orders over their comm. links as this absolute stillness was incomprehensible.

An order must have come through as all of the enforcers moved with fluidity to unlock the cages. They were all in perfect synchronicity as they moved. It seemed so much like they had one processor and numerous frames. The thought freaked Sideswipe out a little.

"Get up and start moving. Follow the mech down there," The enforcer ordered as he gestured down the passageway further, away from the stairwell.

Sideswipe hastened to follow orders. Ignoring them would in the end be futile and very hazardous to his health. It appeared as though no one else had heard the harsh, barking order but the twin didn't bother to rouse them. He didn't want to risk getting in trouble in order to help out these bots who so obviously didn't give a frag.

Hopping up from his seated position with more enthusiasm than he felt the twin started his trek down the hallway. Other bots started seeping from other cages around him, joining together to make a small, trickling stream.

So many bots just continued to sit there though, not thinking anything of the world around them. The area seemed to get darker the further down the hallway they got. This couldn't be true considering there were no lights anywhere, no source of illumination. Still, it seemed as though these mechs were getting into the bowels of Cybertron as every tiny bit of light was stripped from the air around them.

It got to the point where they couldn't see the enforcer ahead of them and Sideswipe couldn't even make out the outline of the chassis that he knew were around him. He could feel the residual heat coming from the frames of the other bots, occasionally feel the swish of air from them as a mech got too close to him.

They continued on, similarly to a funeral possession. The other enforcers must have fallen in behind them but no one could tell. Sideswipe tried to push back the feeling of dread encompassing his spark, the darkness playing with his processor.

The twin started to panic, feeling as though the darkness was pressing in on him. The black, inky darkness seemed to be drawing the life away from him, trying to make him a greying frame on the ground. What would happen to Sunstreaker if that occurred?

Sideswipe tried to struggle against the oppressive atmosphere and just continue on. He focused on putting one pede on the other, concentrated on the frames continuing to walk around him. If they were together then nothing could go too wrong.

The walk seemed to last forever. The corridor seemed never ending, just stretching on and on. It felt as though orns were passing as they continued their journey but realistically it was only a joor. Somewhere in the back of his processor Sideswipe considered just how large this complex must be if they were still walking after such a long time.

Just ahead of them Sideswipe could make out some faint light. No longer was the darkness all encompassing. The outline of the enforcer leading them comforted Sideswipe. No longer was panic consuming the twin, instead he managed to calm down.

Something was obviously going on. Where were they going and why? They had to walk for such a long distance it must be something extremely important. What could it be though?

Sideswipe's questions would be answered soon enough. The light led to a doorway which they were all forced through. The mass of bodies was suddenly squished into a much smaller passageway. Light, bright and glaring burned into their optics.

Momentarily blinded Sideswipe stood still only to be knocked to the ground. A frame behind him gave him a great shove, throwing him to the floor. No other mech or femme bothered to stop and help him up. Instead all of their optics were focused ahead and each one seemed as though they had been brainwashed.

Sideswipe felt pedes start stepping on him. He attempted to get up, pull himself into a sitting position. However no bot would give him room to do so, instead deciding to step on his frame. Each pede left its mark on him, making large dents.

The twin barely noticed the pain in the struggle to get up. He didn't think that the other bots would be like this, so unfocused on anything. His frame was so small most of them weren't even bothering to notice him.

Each time he attempted to get up he was struck by another pede, another bot just walking on. Mindless. All of these bots were mindless, drones. What made them any different from the cleaning drones that were used in households all over Cybertron?

When the last bot had passed Sideswipe regained his footing and followed after them all. No longer were his optics struggling with the light. The twin hobbled slightly due to his new injuries. The enforcers were right behind him, he could feel their optics boring into his back.

This hallway was much shorter than the last. There was no stairwell to take them up to the next level. Instead the passage widened out into a large communal area. Along each side were different bays, each one with a bot manning them. At the back of the room was an open storage area. Milling around in the area different bots straightened up as they saw the group walk in. Something was about to begin.

Were they about to be made into spare parts? Sideswipe wondered. He certainly wouldn't make very good spare parts considering everyone else was in their final frame rather than their first one. All around the bots in the different bays prepared for action and a feeling of nausea settled in Sideswipe's tanks.

Two bots stepped forward, both mechs. They seemed to be in charge of the situation here, instead of the enforcers. Neither of the mechs seemed to be an enforcer, instead they looked much like the frame workers from Iacon. These workers occasionally came to Kaon to work on frames for future mining mechs. They were never particularly liked considering their occupation. At least though, they were more compassionate than any of the law enforcement officers.

"You will all be taken through to get your frames swapped. Resisting this is futile and will result in a painful deactivation," The taller bot said, he voice booming out over the crowd.

No one moved, no one said anything. None of the bots cared what happened to them, or at least that was the frame of processor for the majority. Sideswipe kept quiet as talking would do nothing.

"There is a rotation through the bays. You will be given a new frame and transferred. Afterwards you will go through the wash racks in order to clean up," the second mech elaborated.

At that some of the mechs from the bays moved into the crowd. The enforcers encircled the group to ensure no one tried to get away. Different mechs and femmes were singled out to get their frames changed. Sideswipe was thankful that he wasn't one of the first to be picked out for reframing.

The different mechs and femmes were taken to the bays. Shutters came down, sealing the area of from the communal hall. This way there would be at least some privacy for the poor bots about to leave everything they had known and took comfort in behind.

Sideswipe focused in on his spark. All around him the frames were tall, blocking any view he could have possibly had. Was Sunstreaker here in this crowd? What was going to happen to them now? They were in youngling frames, not mech frames. If everyone else was getting changed frames, into larger ones most likely, how would they cope?

The twin wished his brother was next to him so they could go through this together. Sideswipe had never missed his twin more than at this point in time. What he wouldn't give to have Sunstreaker by his side. His brother may occasionally be annoying but he sure as hell was someone he could go through life with and depend on.

Sideswipe concentrated on reading the bond with his twin. There was the usual absence there and no feeling of being near to his twin. The youngling wished that the bond between them had remained strong. Then they could have talked to one another like they had when they were younger. Now he was on his own and Sunstreaker wasn't even nearby.

The twin was startled out of his focus when a servo landed on his shoulder. The servo encompassed almost all of the plating on his shoulder. A quick flashback took him to the alley where he had been beaten up. A quiver of fear shot through him before he schooled his expression. Sideswipe wasn't there now and certainly couldn't afford such a lapse in focus again.

"You are coming with me youngling," the mech said.

Sideswipe looked up into the mech's faceplates. There was nothing that stood out about them. The optics which regarded him with a curious look were old and worn. This mech was many vorns older than everyone else in the room. He was older than he could ever hope to live to.

"Come along now I haven't all day and these enforcers are just looking for an excuse to beat on you," the mech added in a whisper, ushering Sideswipe along with his servos.

Sideswipe hurried forwards, the threat of the enforcers spurring him into action. There was no way he wanted to get into a bad situation right now. Worse would be getting on this mech's bad side. This was the bot who was going to change him into a new frame and he could just decide not to put him into stasis for the transfer.

The twin had heard it was one of the worst tortures available. To be online and conscious throughout the procedure was something only the cruellest of mechs could inflict on a bot. Your spark as pulled from your frame and your consciousness got sucked into your spark. Many a bot had gone insane from not going into stasis for the transfer. The few seconds where you were forced into your spark before being allowed back out could destroy any bot.

Sideswipe certainly didn't want to go through that. What could happen to Sunstreaker if he was forced into the bond and not just his spark? The twin wanted to keep as much pain from his brother as possible. Some things they could share but sharing their pain across the bond was just cruel.

Sideswipe knew his brother would freak out if he felt such a thing happen. Sunstreaker would go mental stuck on the other side of that corridor, so far away from him. Undoubtedly he would stir up trouble and get himself injured or offlined. The outgoing twin certainly didn't want to risk that and so he decided not to get on this mech's bad side.

The outgoing twin was led into one of the bays on the side of the room. It seemed to be more hidden than the rest simply because it was so inconspicuous. All the others had tools and metal in them that seemed lethal. This one was as nondescript as a doctor's office. The same layout you would find in any of the major cities.

This fact soothed Sideswipe. The mech didn't seem overly cruel and the twin detected a feeling of remorse from the older bot. Maybe he didn't particularly like what was going on here, would prefer to have no been caught up in all of this.

"Take a seat on the bench youngling. We'll have a talk before I work to get this transfer up and running," the mech said soothingly as he flicked a switch.

The shutters at the front of the bay slid down. The room remained brightly lit by lights along the ceiling. A berth sat in the middle of the area and Sideswipe sat himself upon it. He had to jump a little to get up onto the berth but it didn't particularly bother him. Optics roamed around the area as he waited for the bot to speak.

"Okay youngling, the designation is Kup. I'm going to be transferring you into a fighting frame, just like all the other mechs and femmes here are. It's a frame that is as non-descript as you have at the moment. The only difference is that you are going to get it all painted up ready for what lays ahead of you. You're going to find it very different to be in this frame. Not only is it going to be bigger than the one you have now it is also going to need a lot more energon and take more processor power to control. Your spark should be fine to support the build so no problems there. Any questions?"

"No."

The answer was short and sharp. The nausea which had only been slight before now welled up in his tanks. This was really happening, he was about to change frames. Not into anything he was actually suited to but to a frame needed out of necessity. Some other bot was forcing him into this. Not the mech, Kup, who stood in front of him. Instead some faceless bot was playing with his life.

A glint of determination filled Sideswipe's optics. He wasn't just going to give up. He wasn't going to get all down and gloomy just because he was changing frames. He would be fine, just as Sunstreaker would be.

"So what's your designation youngling?"

"Sideswipe."

Another short answer. The twin's tanks roiled and he looked around the room. His optics had started to look extremely glassy and he wasn't really focusing on the mech in front of him. This mech, Kup didn't seem to notice or care.

"Alright then Sideswipe. Time for you to lie down on the berth. I'm going to use a sedative on you to put you into stasis. You will be under for the total of one joor. When you come out you will be in your new frame and your processors will be reset."

Sideswipe just continued to sit there. Kup's words didn't really sink into his processor. The twin was too busy worry about Sunstreaker. Would changing frames affect their bond at all? Sideswipe certainly hoped it wouldn't.

"Sideswipe. Lay down." This wasn't a question, it was an order. Kup glared at the youngling before him.

The twin looked up at the mech, finally focusing on the situation at hand. Glancing behind him at the berth he laid down gently. Wriggling around slightly he settled himself so that he was lying straight on the berth.

From somewhere behind him the youngling could hear Kup moving around some things. A high pitched whining noise filled the air, soon followed by the squeak and grind of gears. Sideswipe resisted the urge to get up and take a look at what was happening. So long as he didn't look he wouldn't know what scary device this mech was preparing for him.

The twin shuttered his optics, he didn't want to see any of this. Sideswipe didn't want to know what frame it was he was going to be transferred into and nor did he want to see what tools would be used. The more he didn't know the better.

People always say that if you know what is happening you will be less afraid. Sideswipe didn't believe it. An ordinary mech wouldn't be scared of working in the mines unless he knew how you were treated there. It was exactly the same thing here.

Kup looked over at the youngling and sighed. Sideswipe looked as if he were preparing for his own offlining. It wasn't really that bad, surely the bot was feeling cramped in that frame. There would be some discomfort for a little while but it wouldn't last long. Certainly not if his spark readings were anything to go by.

"Calm down youngling, this isn't going to hurt you."

Sideswipe tried to still his tanks. No matter what Kup said it was unlikely that he would be able to settle down. Did all the other mechs and femmes who came through here settle down? The youngling didn't think so. Who would be able to knowing what your ultimate fate was going to be?

Then again those that were so far removed from the situation probably weren't even aware of what was happening. They wouldn't have any clue about what was going on. Those bots probably just laid down like they were going into recharge for a bit.

Would his new frame be really different? Would he still be the same bot in this new frame or would his personality totally change? Your personality wasn't meant to change considering you still had the same spark but Sideswipe worried all the same. What if he was so different his twin couldn't recognise him?

Kup huffed. This youngling wasn't going to make the job easy on him. It was bad enough that this procedure was technically illegal. You were never meant to upgrade a youngling straight into a fully armoured mech frame. Usually a light frame was used first in order to get the spark used to the larger frame and difference in size.

The mech prepped the needle, ready to start the procedure. The youngling's new frame lay on the berth beside him. This extra berth was lowered from the ceiling in order to maximise space and not freak out everyone as they entered the atrium area. The crowds were much easier to control if they couldn't see the frames they were being transferred into.

When the youngling woke up he would be in a very large frame. Bigger than even the frames the mining mechs had. Each chassis was fully decked out for fighting in every manner. There were areas where guns and knives could be fitted. Every kind of armour had a place on the chassis. None of it was actually loaded so that no behind the scenes fights could break out between the bots held in the complex. All fighting was for the rings only.

Kup wondered how he ended up being here, doing this. There were so many other things he could have been doing, much more legal things. The bottom of the matter was, this had been advertised as an above the board job with great pay. In reality it was nothing of the sort. Of course, the pay was good and much better than anything he had been offered before but it certainly wasn't legal.

The mech decided not to give the youngling a heads up about the injection; he was tightly enough wound as it was. Instead he slipped the primed needle straight into his energon lines. Turning away he dropped needle in its dispenser before getting ready to transfer the spark.

Sideswipe felt the needle enter his energon lines. Jolting slightly he cursed the mech for not telling him beforehand. The last thought he had before slipping into stasis was of Sunstreaker and their time with their creators.

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Hope you enjoyed the 3k chapter. Review please? Question: Anyone up for NaNoWriMo November?


	12. An Interruption

Hello Hello Everyone!

Here is chapter 12. I had a bit of a blank day yesterday and did nothing whatsoever. Now I need to get writing. Thank you so much for the five wonderful reviews for Chapter 11. It's great to see that you're all liking the story so much.

Mav

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Chapter 12

Burning pain seared through his spark. Vents struggled to bring air into his systems. Coolant was no longer doing the job of keeping his frame cool. Something was wrong, oh so wrong. Never before had his spark been like this, burned so sharply.

'Sideswipe, it has to be Sideswipe' Sunstreaker thought as he clutched his chest plates. What was going on?

The pain just got worse. It was everywhere all at once, flowing outwards from his spark. For a mere astrosecond he sensed Sideswipe on the other side of the bond before the pain took over. No one in the cell seemed to notice him. They all just sat the same way they had since being led here.

It became harder and harder for Sunstreaker to draw in air. There were no warning signs flashing on his HUD, it was nothing to do with his frame. It was his spark, the bond. It hurt so much, overwhelming him. This was unusual, it was too much.

Suddenly there were footsteps up the hallways. Moving quickly and closer to Sunstreaker's cell. The twin barely heard them as he started to zone out. He was conscious, not in stasis yet. It would take more than this, some actual system damage to put him into stasis.

Sunstreaker didn't notice when the cell door was yanked open. The twin was barely aware of arms that lifted his frame up and ignorant of the distance passing beneath him. There were bright lights, seen through glassy optics.

'Sideswipe'. Something was wrong with his twin. If it hurt him this much how painful must it be for his twin? Servos cradled his chest plates as the mech carried him forward.

Lights got even brighter before Sunstreaker was placed on a berth. All around him there were voices, yelling. Where was he now? Sideswipe? It just hurt so much. The twin tried to curl up into a ball, protect his chestplates. Servos were suddenly uncurling him, pulling him from the slightly relief the position gave him.

A pinprick of sensation in his energon lines. The pain started to fade slowly. Optics which hadn't been focusing slowly dimmed and shuttered. The twin fell into stasis in the same area as his twin. The voices continued to yell.

"They're twins, we need another frame now!" Kup yelled at the two other mechs assisting him. The enforcer had stepped out of the way as soon as he had entered the room.

The operation had been going fine until Kup had removed the spark from the youngling frame. Then, all hell had broken loose. The sensors monitoring the spark had started to go haywire. Hastily getting the fragile spark into a frame Kup had turned to assess the scanners. He was losing the spark and quickly. This shouldn't have been happening; there wasn't any reason for this at all.

The youngling hadn't mentioned anything about a bond or a twin or a sibling. What was going on? the rest of the transfers had happened extremely smoothly. This just wasn't his orn.

"I need the two enforcers which captured prisoner 399 in my bay now," Kup demanded over a private comm. link. They would hopefully be able to clear this up for him.

Rushing around Kup grabbed an energon line and connected it to the new frame. Energon started to flow freely into the chassis, hopefully improving the amount of time the spark had left. The mech tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the enforcers to arrive. Did the fragtards understand the implications of having siblings or twins in for this kind of operation?

Hopefully the mechs would know who the sibling or twin was and get them here quickly. It would be extremely bad if they didn't know who it was or the other youngling hadn't been captured yet. Whatever bond it was between the two younglings it had to be a strong one or this reaction wouldn't have happened.

A relatively hidden door to the side of the shutters whooshed open to admit the two enforcers. Their chests heaved as they cycled air into their vents. The two looked as if they had both run a marathon.

"Kup, Sir, how can we help you?" The first said, shifting nervously from pede to pede. The look on Kup's faceplates was one to fear. If they got in enough trouble they would end up offline. That was not a fate that they would appreciate.

"Was there another bot with this youngling when you captured or chased him?" Kup questioned, glaring at the two of them equally.

"Uh, yeah there was another brat there. He got captured by a couple of other enforcers I think," the first mech responded, fear filling his optics. They were in slag now.

"Which enforcers? Get in contact with them. I want this other bot here, now!" Kup yelled as he turned back to Sideswipe.

The frame didn't move and the sensors were still registering a rapid decline in the strength of the spark. If the spark became much weaker they would lose the youngling altogether. Kup heard pedesteps receding hastily from the room. At least the ball had started rolling now.

It would be a good idea to get an energon feed straight into the spark chamber, the only issue was that medics were the only bots qualified to do something like that. Unfortunately there were no medics on the premises yet. This was usually such a straight forward procedure that they didn't need to worry about having any medical assistance.

These bots who were swapping over the sparks were trained in basic first aid but anything to this level was for a medic. There had been so few sets of twins back in his home city that Kup didn't really know what the issue was. There was a possibility that if one spark was left in a smaller frame while the other was moved up a frame that the connection could be severed. This would be a major issue if the bond was completely severed already. Kup just hoped that this situation could be rectified.

Barring any medic here the mech decided to set up the energon line into the spark chamber. Technically they had gone over this in their medical training for emergencies but they never went into much detail. This would be his first time even attempting such a thing and nervousness filled him. If he didn't do this right he would likely lose the youngling but if he didn't do it there would be the exact same ending. He couldn't let Sideswipe die, not so young.

Prepping the frame he gently hooked up the energon line to the spark chamber. Off to one side was a special entry point for energon lines, making the job that much easier. The only issue was that he now had to regulate the energon that went in. If there was too much then the spark would end up flooded. Too little and the line would do nothing whatsoever.

The energon started trickling into the spark chamber. The heat of the spark absorbed the small amount of liquid that was present. Taking it as a good sign Kup up the dosage slightly. Suddenly, too much of the liquid was pouring into the spark chamber. Grabbing desperately for one of the small suction hoses the mech started to remove the liquid while turning down the dosage again. It seemed that he had it right the first time.

Knowing that some of the other bots were finished with their first frame transfers Kup requested a couple of them to come and assist him. Even if they got the other youngling here soon he would need help to keep Sideswipe stable and transfer the other spark.

Maybe one of these other bots would know something more about what was going on but Kup doubted it. There were a couple of the mechs who had never been through the training for this, rendering them useless from the start. A couple of others had the same training as him but that was only two or three. One of which was a femme who decided that she wasn't going to get along with any of them. None of the other mechs or femmes had any clue as to why this had occurred but they lived with the fact. It wasn't like it was any big issue, except for in situations like now.

The door opened again, this time with less force than before. Kup glanced up from what he was doing to confirm the identities of the newcomers. There were the two other mechs with similar training and the femme was suspiciously absent.

"What do you need a hand with Kup?"

"This spark is totally unstable and we're losing it. I think that the youngling may have a strong sibling bond or even a split-spark twin bond. Whatever it is we're losing this youngling and quite possibly another," Kup responded. "I've already got the enforcers looking for the other youngling because he is in this complex somewhere. Hopefully they'll find him and deliver him here in time."

"Okay, do you want us to transfer the other youngling's spark or keep this one stable?"

"I want one of you to transfer the other youngling's spark while the other helps me out with Sideswipe here. Right now though I need you to go and grab another frame and two of the collapsible berths. We don't have long so get moving."

The two bots hastened to go find the materials needed. Kup was once again left alone in the room. Thankfully it seemed as though the spark wasn't weakening anymore and was precariously perched on a ledge of stability. It wouldn't take much for him to lose this youngling but at least for now he was stable.

Kup had performed in many jobs over his lifetime so far but he had never felt so scared before. His spark was all but dancing in his chest and his tanks were rolling. Kup had killed before and hadn't had as much of an issue. The difference here was that when he had been up against his opponent the mech had known what he was getting into. This youngling had no option in any of this and now to think the spark which had seen such a short period of time on this planet could offline at any astrosecond terrified Kup.

The sound of pedesteps returned, one of the mechs was back with the two portable berths that were needed. Hopefully his other partner would be back in a moment. Although working alongside of these other mechs recently he hadn't learnt any of their designations. The only designations he had learnt were those of the mechs he had transferred and the irritable femme's. Her name was Ashdancer.

The femme was a looker for sure but much too moody and grumpy for anyone's tastes. Supposedly she had enjoyed many a lover back in Iacon a couple of vorns ago including mechs such as Soundwave and Starscream. That was what the rumour mill was currently spreading anyway, whether it was true or not was another issue. Kup certainly didn't think all of it was true.

It was likely that the femme had met up with a string of different lovers but the likelihood of her interacting with Starscream that way was minimal. Kup had known Starscream since he was a youngling in his first frame, before the seeker had even been able to fly. He would trust whatever Starscream said over the current rumour mill.

The other mech entered the room, carrying a new frame. He seemed to be struggling with the weight of the chassis but at least it had been retrieved. Following close on the bot's heels were two enforcers. One of them was carrying a youngling, very similar to Sideswipe.

The poor youngling didn't seem at all aware of what was going on around him. It seemed as though the small framed youngling was trying to curl up around his chestplates, indicating and issue or pain with his spark. Undoubtedly this was Sideswipe twin or brother.

"Get him onto the berth. The sooner we transfer his spark the better. You two enforcers, put him down and leave," Kup ordered. "Now both of your get those two frames prepped. Don't forget to talk the youngling through what is going n. He's probably frightened enough as it is, we don't need to make this worse for him."

The two other mechs hastened to get everything ready. Everyone knew how important speed and accuracy was for this operation. If they stuffed this up, two lives would be lost. Both of the bots didn't seem as affected as Kup was but the old timer figured that they were probably used to such things. The bots seemed like they had come from rough pasts, if not from this very same city. Whatever the background they were doing a good enough job here.

Kup monitored Sideswipe spark. Right now it was still stable but the moment they started transferring his sibling's spark that status would change. They would have mere astroseconds to get the other spark settled in the frame before they would lose both younglings completely. Kup could feel the way the gravity of the situation was getting to him. The mech tried to still his mind as he concentrated on his duties.

"Both of you stay over there on that frame. Remember, once those chestplates are open we're going to have a maximum of three astroseconds to get this completed."

The two mechs exchanged a nervous look. Kup seemed much too emotional over this. What was the issue if they lost a couple of lives, albeit young ones? You were going to get paid all the same whether every operation was successful or not. This mech seemed as though he was going to crack if he just lost two bots.

Hopefully Kup wouldn't just explode into a massive fit if this didn't go successfully. These two certainly didn't want to have to fix up anything to do with the bot. Kup seemed to be a loner, always on the edge of the group. He stood out from everyone like a sore thumb, so obviously not from a corrupt or devastating background. Many of the bots were from similar backgrounds meaning that any anomaly stuck out greatly.

They prepped the next frame and steadied their vents. They were ready for this. Their actions in the next couple of seconds would decide whether these two younglings lived or died. The taller of the two, and the slightly more experienced, toyed with the idea of killing the younglings just to see Kup's reaction. It would be amusing but if it was proven that he had purposely lost the life then he could be punished.

Both of the bots concentrated. Triggering the release for the twin's chestplates they quickly yanked the spark from the small chassis before sticking it straight into the larger frame. The monitors immediately started registering the spark in the new frame. Sensors went haywire as a drastic decrease in spark stability was measured. Kup hissed as he noticed it. This was just going from bad to worse.

Sideswipe's spark was following after his brother's, no longer at its stable state. They were going to lose both of the younglings. A glance at the other two mechs showed that they didn't particularly care about the outcome of this. Kup's tanks roiled at the thought of these two innocent youngling's offlining.

The larger of the two mechs looked down at the frame. There was no guilt running through him and no remorse. This was just how things worked here. Seriously, the two probably wouldn't have made it through the first fight. They were getting off much easier this way.

Right before their eyes though the spark stopped it's erratic spinning within the spark chamber. The machines no longer beeped continuously, instead showing that the spark was stabilising. Kup took a relieved intake of breath, maybe they weren't going to lose these two after all.

Sideswipe's spark also started to stabilise, just before reaching critical levels. The two had somehow stabilised themselves using each other's sparks. Whether they had previously known how to do this or just learnt it, the skill had saved their lives.

Kup moved around to the other youngling's new frame in order to hook up an energon line into the spark chamber. The two would need to be monitored and kept in stasis until their sparks regained their strength. If they were forced into online status too soon they could end up with serious malfunctions throughout their life.

The door opened again, this time with a loud bang. An imposing figure strode through the entrance way, a small posse of bots behind him. The mech was tall and broad shoulder, his frame obviously very expensive. The paint and finish on the chassis was worth more than most mechs earned in one hundred vorns. Rich black paint intertwined with a dark purple to create a devastatingly handsome and dangerous picture.

"What is going on here? We should have had all of those mechs into new frames by now and be moving on to the next group, instead I have three of the most senior frame engineers in one room working over two frames!" The mech yelled, getting right up into Kup's face.

"We had an issue sir, we were going to lose two of the potential gladiators if we hadn't have acted this way. As it is they will need monitoring in the immediate future until their sparks stabilise. We had some errors that we had no accounted for," Kup replied, voice soft and hesitant. This mech was extremely pissed and there was no knowing what he might do.

"I don't care what was going on with these two. You will have them online within the next two breems or we will permanently offline them. They are of no use sitting on a berth utilising essential energon." he growled, backing off slightly from Kup.

"Sir, we'll lose them '-'" Kup protested vainly.

"You dare try to defy me?" the mech demanded. In saying this he whirled, locking optics onto Sunstreaker's new frame. "This is what you get for even thinking of defying me!"

The mech yanked the energon line from the once-youngling's spark chamber before forcefully shutting his chestplates. Tapping in the command sequence for onlining the twin into the computer monitor he turned and left the room. Kup's colleagues left the room close behind, leaving Kup to deal with the aftermath.

There was no way that the youngling should be brought online yet. His spark was nowhere near strong enough to handle the pressures of the new frame. Add to it that he hadn't even been aware of what was going on he was going to have an hysterical mech on his hands, one that was much bigger than him.

Thinking it would be a good idea to have them both up at the same time so as to be able to calm them both Kup gently disconnected Sideswipe and started the onlining sequence. At least now Sideswipe would be able to comfort his sibling and they would be at the same point with their sparks.

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How did you like the chapter? Review please!


	13. Recognition

Hey Everyone,

Here is chapter 13. I think i may be up to writing chapter 20 but i have no clue. Thanks for the lovely reviews guys, they're great! Now, guess what! I am an offical camp nanowrimo june 2012 winner. I just validate my score and have 50046 words. Woohoo! Enjoy the chappy.

Mav

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Chapter 13

Sunstreaker could feel his frame but if felt different. Not a good different in that it was clean or free of grime, no instead it felt heavier and very similar to the feeling of being pinned down. This was unusual. He hadn't been pinned down when he had fallen into stasis had he?

There was silence, everywhere. Not the pseudo silence of the cells, this was a different silence. It seemed as if the world had stopped, absolutely everything had come to a standstill. Was there any noise? Sunstreaker didn't think so, he couldn't sense anything.

The twin tried to surface out of his thoughts, get his processor fully online. He wanted to get out of this stasis and be able to move around again. It seemed though that his frame did not want to cooperate with him today. Nothing was responding to his signals, what was going on?

Finally his processor started to respond. So far he had been restricted, inside his spark. Now though he could use his processor and actually figure out what was going on. Systems checks started to be run while unknown and alien formatting came into play. Sunstreaker had never seen these commands before; there were so many more checks to run than usual. What had happened to him?

Withdrawing slightly into his spark the twin tried to reach out to Sideswipe. He met a wall, a blankness where the essence of his twin would usually be. Was something wrong with Sideswipe, was he okay? Panic started to flood through Sunstreaker as he started to remember what had happened to him before falling into stasis.

There had been pain, so much pain. Then there had been pedesteps and arms. Had he imagined that or was it real? Afterwards there had been light, all-encompassing light that burnt down on him from above. Sideswipe, it had something to do with Sideswipe.

Sunstreaker tried to skip around the systems checks, the booting up system he rarely, if ever used. Why oh why couldn't his frame skip these checks for today? He could run them next time he shut down, just not now. He needed to find out what was going on with his twin.

At last his processor got through all of the stupid start up checks. It took longer than usual but his optics flickered on and the twin was able to see where he was. As Sunstreaker managed to reconnect with his frame he became aware of the pain, it hadn't left him yet! Sideswipe, was he okay?

With much difficulty the twin pushed himself into a sitting position. The pain in his spark hadn't left but it wasn't quite as bad as before. Now at least, he could move around albeit with jerky movements. Sunstreaker stopped his movement and looked down.

This wasn't his frame, he had never been this high off the floor. The colour was different, not the unusual silver that he had been since onlining, no he was now a dark gold in colour. Something odd was going on here that was for sure.

Kup hovered nervously, watching as Sideswipe sibling onlined. Sideswipe wasn't coming around yet but he would be soon. Hopefully he would be able to keep this other youngling, or rather mech, occupied until that time came.

Sunstreaker shifted his optics up to look around the room. The two red optics locked onto an unknown mech who was hovering beside a berth opposite him. Lying beside the mech was another large frame, similar to his own. However beside the large frame was a chassis that Sunstreaker would be able to find anywhere, Sideswipe.

"What did you do to Sideswipe?" Sunstreaker growled, shifting slightly in order to launch an attack on this mech.

"He's fine; he'll be coming out of stasis in a couple of astroseconds. We've just swapped both of you into new frames, everything is okay," Kup reassured, hoping that his words would be enough to settle Sideswipe's sibling.

Sunstreaker regarded Kup warily. This mech could be telling the truth but alternatively he could be lying. It was probably in this mech's best interests to lie to him if he had done something extremely bad to Sideswipe.

Instead of staying where he was Sunstreaker pushed himself off the berth and started walking over to his twin. Each step was lurching, the twin not used to his frame whatsoever. He felt so much heavier than he had previously. Just making it to Sideswipe's berth drained him. The systems readouts were telling him that he had normal levels for energon and coolant so why was he having so much difficulty?

Reaching Sideswipe's berth he leant upon it heavily. Sunstreaker's legs were barely able to hold him up. Kup hadn't moved, either in fear of sparking the twin's anger or out of spite, not wanting to assist the once youngling.

Sideswipe's old frame was greying. No longer was it the usual silvery grey they had been for their entire existence. Instead it was now a very dull grey, signifying that the systems were no longer running. Sunstreaker was shocked, that meant his twin was dead and offline. Was that the reason the pain was still in his spark?

Sunstreaker bent over, brushing a servo along the side of his twin's faceplates. Glancing up he regarded the other frame. There was a possibility that Sideswipe's spark had been transferred into that frame. Hopefully that was the case.

Hobbling over to the other berth he laid a servo on this frame's shoulder. There was no movement from the chassis, sitting there so still. There was no way his twin was coming around yet. Was Sideswipe really transferred over? Was this mech, Kup, to be trusted?

Sideswipe's systems started up. His spark was whirling in it's spark chamber. He was trapped within this frame, stuck here where he didn't want to be. It hurt, this chassis hurt. Was Sunstreaker here?

Kup, he had said that this operation would go well. If so, why was it hurting so much? Could Sunstreaker feel this pain, was it as bad for him?

Sideswipe finally managed to get through the start-up sequences. Finally his conscious wasn't trapped in his spark, within the thick walls of his spark chamber. The systems in this frame were lagging though, so far behind the usual running time for his old frame.

The twin couldn't hear anything, was anyone there? Surely Kup would be right near him, monitoring the procedure. What if he had been left alone? How was he going to get used to this new frame?

Optics flickered on, taking much longer to boot up than usual. Sideswipe stared straight up at the roof. It was different from when he had gone into stasis. He must be in his new frame.

On his shoulder was some heat, a servo? Sideswipe shifted his helm to the side, even that small movement draining him of energy. There, those faceplates? It felt as though he knew this mech but he had never seen the bot before. Sideswipe's spark was calling out, registering Sunstreaker as close by.

In an effort to see his twin Sideswipe struggled into a sitting position. Sweeping his optics around the room Sideswipe looked for Sunstreaker, sure that his twin was very close by.

Sunstreaker watched Sideswipe sit up and look around. It seemed as though his twin was looking for something. What else was there to look for other than he himself? There had been a slight flicker of recognition in Sideswipe's optics so he must have already figured out who he was.

"Sideswipe?" Sunstreaker queried voice harsh and full of static.

His twin's optics snapped to his faceplates. Sunstreaker connected eyesight with him but there was no recognition there.

"Yes?" Sideswipe answered his voice just as bad as Sunstreaker's.

"It's me, Sunstreaker. What is happening? Are you alright? There was just so much pain coming across the bond. I don't know what happened but I ended up here. He-" Sunstreaker gestured to kup, "Said that we were transferred frames."

Sideswipe looked stunned. To see his twin, unrecognisable in this new frame, shocked him. They had changed so drastically from their previous frames to these new chassis. Sunstreaker appeared as a tough warrior mech, there was reinforced metal everywhere, all along his frame. Shoulders which had once been slim were now bulked up with armour and arms which had once been free of weaponry now held areas for long swords.

The scariest thing about his twin's new look and frame were the optics. Rich red optics stared back at him. Where once there had been clear glass there was rich red glass. It made Sunstreaker look violent, evil even. Although Sideswipe knew his twin wasn't that way he felt a shiver of fear shoot down his energon lines.

"Sunny? Is that really you?" Sideswipe questioned, not quite believing this.

"Yeah, it's me Sides," Sunstreaker said, looking slightly confused as to why that question had to be asked.

"Oh...okay then. We were transferred frames, I don't know why and I'm not sure why there is this pain in our sparks. I was put into stasis. I didn't know anything at all until I started coming out of stasis and then that was just systems checks. Why, what happened to you?"

"I was just in the cell and suddenly there was all this pain in my spark. It came from nowhere and it seemed to be on your end of the bond. Some mech's showed up at the cell but I don't remember anything else, it was too painful."

Kup watched as the two started talking through their experience. A bond as close as theirs was odd in a city such as Kaon. Mechs and femmes in Iacon didn't even have as close of a bond. The mention of their spark bond led Kup to believe that they were split spark twins and not just siblings. The way the two were so close together and blocking out the world was very similar to the actions of bondmates. Was it possible that these two were split spark twins?

Highly unlikely, that Kup knew. Twins were common enough everywhere but split spark twins were very rare. Twins were easily created through multiple spark merges in a small period of time whereas split spark twins were caused by the sparkling splitting in two while still inside the carrier's spark chamber. The event was so rare that split spark twins were cherished in all the major cities. In others though, this kind of twin were experimented on a lot. If they were split spark twins the younglings had probably kept it a secret or their creators never told them.

Kup would have loved to talk to them about it but it was better off that they didn't discuss such things. If the mechs running the rings found out undoubtedly they would take these two away from testing. It was bad enough that he had put them both in so much danger already; he did not want to repeat the incident. The guilt would just be too much.

Sideswipe looked over his twin, not really believing that it was actually Sunstreaker. The mannerisms were the same, the spark signature was the same but it didn't seem as though it was actually him. He just looked so different, so imposing and violent. Sideswipe had never thought of his twin that way and didn't think he ever would, until now.

Sunstreaker wearily pulled himself onto the berth next to sideswipe. His frame could barely stay upright, so drained was he. Sideswipe seemed to flinch away just slightly

Sideswipe seemed to flinch away just slightly but the twin wasn't sure if that was just a trick of his processor or real. Sunstreaker decided to ignore it, quietly swinging his legs as he sat there.

It wasn't a companionable silence between them while they sat there; instead the air was laced with tension. It seemed as though they couldn't really trust each other due to this new development. Although they may have been the same bot inside, the change in frame and size had suddenly put a rift between them.

Kup wasn't unaware of this new tension between the twins but he figured it would be fairly normal under such circumstances. It may benefit the twins though, if they were put in different cells to work through their thoughts. If they were back in the same cell there were lots of things that could go wrong and they certainly didn't need that. Another reason would be to keep the ancients from knowing of their connection. Luckily everyone's frames here were similar so that was no issue, but the way the two interacted with each other would be a dead giveaway.

The frame worker decided to let them have a couple more kliks sitting next to each other. It was truly unlikely that they would ever see each other again. Kup felt an attachment to these two mechs but knew that he would have to forget about them in order to keep going. All of the mechs who had come through this bay today would be offline within the vorn. Only the very best would continue on, those who had been identified as the winners.

Essentially the rings were rigged. The few that had been decided upon to win had been given the best frames and the weapons they were to be equipped with were the best. Most of the others were just to be fodder, things to make money off of. Those who won would go on to train the next lot of winners that came through. The ancients hoped that by the next group people would want to go in the rings in order to gain great prestige.

Most of the mechs and femmes would keep their designations as they were unimportant. The winners who had been chosen were given new designations, identities and many credits. The ancients were doing everything they possibly could in order to make the gladiator rings a success. Already there was interest from cities around Cybertron. Pre-season tickets were being sold for ridiculous prices. There would be tickets for on the gate but most would be sold before the rings were even fully functional.

There was talk that the rings would open up for exclusive showings of the first rounds where the inefficient bots would be killed. At first it was thought that these fights would be closed matches but then the thought of making more credits off of these useless bots was greatly appreciated by the ancients. Now, there were to be three exclusive showings for different high profile bots from Tyger Pax, Praxus and Iacon.

Kup hated the very thought of these rings. If he had actually known what was going on before he came he wouldn't even be there. However, he was here now and needed to maintain a distance from all the bots who came through this bay. It didn't matter whether they were in for repairs or to get their frames changed, he would not take a personal interest in anyone. It just wasn't worth getting hurt.

The silence remained between the two twins until a couple of enforcers entered the room in order to take them away, back to their cells presumably. Sunstreaker tried to catch Sideswipe's optic as they left the room but his twin's eyesight was firmly fixed to the floor. Instead Sunstreaker sent a wave of reassurance and determination over the bond. He never knew if the feelings even reached his twin as they were dragged off in different directions.

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	14. First Kill

Hey Everyone!

I hope you're all enjoying this story so far. Back to some normal length chapter's now. I need to go separate about ten thousand words worth of chapters which is today's job. Also hoping to write 5k for this story. Plan for tomorrow is another 5k for this story and a new chapter for Life of a Datsun as it has been quite neglected lately. Enjoy the chapter!

Mav

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Chapter 14

Sunstreaker was back in the same cell. Slowly the bots were pulled out of the cage and taken away to get their new frames. Some returned and others didn't. The twin contemplated where they had gone if they didn't return. Maybe it was more likely than he had thought to offline when you were swapped between frames. None of the bots were any more responsive than they had been before. The few who came back just continued to stare off into space.

The mechs in the cage above Sunstreaker had also fallen into an oppressive silence. No longer were there whispers coming from cages, the atmosphere had infected everyone. They were all left alone for what Sunstreaker thought to be a couple of orns before the enforcers reappeared. They came along, pulling bots out of the cells one by one to take them away.

Sunstreaker glanced over at who was going, wondering how long it would be until his turn. Some nervousness filled the twin, was this the start of the fights? He hoped that Sideswipe would find it in him to fight, to the death if necessary. Sunstreaker knew he could do it. He certainly wouldn't like it but he would be able to do it. Sideswipe though, he was unsure if he would be able to do this.

The cages stayed silent, despite all of the movement going on. Either bots didn't care or they were so zoned out that they didn't notice. Sunstreaker seemed to be alone in his wonderings about what was ahead of him and how well he would get through it.

Eventually his time came. Two enforcers walked up to the door of his cell, forcefully pulling him to his pedes. No one even looked up from their points of focus as Sunstreaker as taken away. They followed the same route they had used to enter the cell in the first place.

The stairwell which had seemed so cramped now seemed fairly spacious, free of all the other mechs and femmes. There was no one else in sight as he was led up the stairs. Emerging from the darkness he was met with bright lights. Mechs were walking around everywhere, each with their own duties to attend to.

Everyone here had normal armour, not the heavily reinforced frames like Sunstreaker now possessed. No, these were normal mechs who had been allowed to go about doing relatively normal duties. these mechs wouldn't be pitted against each other in the rings, nor would they understand the sufferings of the Kaon bots.

The enforcers dragged Sunstreaker along as he hesitated slightly. He was pulled forwards to a bay on the side of the room. It was minimally different from the bay he had been in to swap frames. Here there was different weaponry lining the walls. Sunstreaker knew now that he was certainly going into the rings.

"Take a seat on the bench," growled a mech who entered the bay. This mech had a slighter frame than Sunstreaker but made an imposing picture with the large cannons in both arms. There was a conspicuous knife being held to his side by a magnetic force. There was no way that anyone would bother to mess with this mech.

The mech turned and seemed to search through his different weapons. Eventually he decided upon two swords. They were fairly nondescript, a simple blade that was extremely sharp and a plain hilt. It may not be fancy but it would certainly kill a mech. Alongside this the bot picked up a couple of small knives.

Sunstreaker watched on in horror. He had no clue how to use these weapons, much less how to store them on his new frame. This mech obviously had no idea about that whatsoever. It looked as though the bot was just out picking some flowers in a meadow for all the attention he was paying to the blades.

"Here you go. These are your weapons," the mech said grouchily.

Sunstreaker quickly took the two swords and three knives from the mech. He wasn't going to be getting any instruction on these different weapons before he got put into the ring. Hopefully he would be able to pick up the techniques as he went.

"Well hurry up and put them in the holding spots. I haven't got all joor!" the mech snarled, fed up with having to give out weaponry all day.

"I don't know how to," Sunstreaker protested. In return for this snide remark he was punched in the faceplates.

A punch that would have once completely crumpled his faceplates now just created a small dent. It seemed as though the mech's hand was actually more damaged than his faceplates. This new armour must be strong if it could stand up to such force.

"Incompetent fool," the mech mumbled before turning to Sunstreaker. The swords were ripped from Sunstreaker's servos while his left arm was snatched up from where it was lying against his side. The mech fiddled with the different compartments before shoving the sword into the right compartment. It hurt but Sunstreaker didn't make a sound. It would be stupid to anger this mech even more than he already had.

The twin took the initiative to quickly put the other sword in its compartment. In the meantime the mech picked up one of the knives and triggered open a compartment on his lower leg. Into this he placed one of the knives. Again, Sunstreaker followed the bot's lead and put the two other knives into the adjacent holding area. Now he was ready to go into the ring.

Nothing more was said as the enforcers dragged him off of the berth and pushed him across the room. There was the sloping roof that Sunstreaker had spotted on the way into the complex. Why were these mechs taking him straight towards the wall, there was no door there?

Where he had once thought there was a plain wall the metal split apart to show a small alleyway. He was shoved into this and the enforcers blocked the entrance. This was the entrance to the rings, right here in the view of everyone. What lay ahead of him, he had no clue only that it would push him to his limits.

The metal in front of him slid open as the doorway behind him closed. In front of Sunstreaker was a large open space. He couldn't see the ceiling from this specific viewpoint but that didn't particularly matter right now. What did matter was the mech standing opposite him in a similar corridor.

Suddenly there weren't any normal thought processes in Sunstreaker's mind. This was all on instinct, instincts he never knew he had. The mech he had spotted opposite him was huge. He had thought that his own frame was large but this mech's chassis was much larger. If he decided to inflict damage on Sunstreaker it wouldn't just make a small dent, it would absolutely ruin his armour.

Sprinting forward in an awkward run Sunstreaker darted to one side of the ring, thinking that agility would be one of his greatest allies. A mech of this size would have a lot of difficulty darting around to try and capture him. Alternatively if the twin stood and fought he would quickly become scrap metal, not the outcome Sunstreaker was looking for.

The mech didn't even move from where he was. Sunstreaker kept moving forward, beginning to circle around his opponent. The ground under his pedes wasn't smooth like he thought it would be, instead with each step he could feel something crunching. Sparing a quick glance down Sunstreaker was sickened. Beneath his pedes were the chassis of mech's who had offlined. All those mechs who had been taken from their cells earlier had offlined, here. It was quite possible that they had all faced the same opponent he now faced. What could he do differently now to not end up like them?

Sunstreaker kept moving forward. The twin shoved the thought of the other bots from his mind, focusing on the task at hand. He would need all of his wits about him if he was to take down this mech. There was no way he could rely on his strength, it would have to be his agility that saw him through.

The opponent starting moving. He had a rolling gait, one that was easily identifiable and showed that the mech wasn't all that agile. The mech had locked optics on Sunstreaker and was now moving in. Intimidation was probably one of his main tactics in the ring; most would be shocked by the large chassied mech bearing down on them. Sunstreaker however, just kept moving ensuring that he wouldn't be caught unawares.

The opponent got closer to Sunstreaker, despite his twisting and turning throughout the ring. Coming in close the mech struck out at the twin with a clenched servo. A quick reaction on Sunstreaker's behalf meant that the servo just missed his chassis. The mech was carried forward by his servo, obviously unused to not impacting with the target.

Sunstreaker used this in order to land a blow to the back of his opponent's neck. Necks were a sensitive area where there wasn't as much armour protecting vital energon lines and sensors. One energon line broke while others became bent from Sunstreaker's blow. The twin darted back, out of the way of the large mech.

The mech, Metalcrush, whirled around, ready to deliver a full blow to this pesky little mech daring to challenge him. It would be a simple feat to crush the mech's armour, force him to the ground and offline him agonisingly slowly. That was what the crowd wanted to see. High up on the bleachers were the first observers of the ring. They sat there drinking vintage energon and watching the mechs fight in front of them. It was just entertainment for them but it was life or death for those in the ring.

Sunstreaker saw the change in the mech's optics. No longer was this some fun little game, his opponent really wanted to crush him. Until this point the twin had fully forgotten about the weapons he now held upon his frame. What reminded him was the mech drawing a mallet from his subspace. There were no clean weapons like blasters here; it was all about the show. The energon spilt made such a good picture for all of the bots who came to watch the fights.

With an almighty yell Sunstreaker's opponent charged at him. The mallet was lifted high over his helm as the large chassis headed straight for the twin. Sunstreaker attempted to sidestep the incoming assault however the trick didn't work for a second time. Instead his opponent grabbed his waist and brought the mallet down on his helm, hard.

Sunstreaker's processor reeled as he collapsed onto the ground. He couldn't hold on to the function of his chassis while he had no cognitive function. The mech didn't deliver the offlining blow straight away; instead he straightened up and started slowly circling Sunstreaker.

The twin knew the exact moment that he was able to move his limbs again. He didn't move though, not while the mech was right behind him. He would wait until his opponent was on the right side of him before running off to the left. If he continued to fake the injury then the mech wouldn't be suspecting the movement from him. Hopefully that would give Sunstreaker the upper hand in the fight.

The twin would have to bring out his swords now and actually use them. There wasn't any way he was getting out of this ring online without using the weaponry. Although he had never used weapons of any sort his life now depended upon them. Sunstreaker would learn how to use these weapons while delivering the offlining blow to the mech.

Finally his opponent was in place. The second his pede came down Sunstreaker shot off like a turbo fox. The mech, unprepared for such a movement was slow to react. This meant that the twin got away from the immediate danger zone unscathed.

There was a small latch on the inside of Sunstreaker's wrist and he hoped it was for releasing the swords that he held in his arms. Triggering the button two swords emerged which the twin gripped on to. The weight of the two weapons felt odd in his servos. Never before had he used a blade and the feeling of the hilt in servo was very weird and unusual.

The mech charged at Sunstreaker again, not one for using any brilliant tactics. The twin sprinted away, not trying his sidestep trick. Twirling around and running back Sunstreaker took a flying leap and stuck one of the swords straight through his opponents back. If the move had gone wrong then Sunstreaker would have been lying in a heap on the ground, ready to be smashed up by this mech.

Instead the move had gone well and now his opponent was yelling out in pain. This was beneficial to Sunstreaker as it meant that the mech was distracted. Bringing his other sword around he pressed it into the back of the mech's neck. Shoving down with that arm he severed his opponent's helm from the body. The chassis wasn't still though; it started jerking as soon as the head came off. Stunned Sunstreaker didn't move, didn't bother to withdraw his other sword from the frame. So, the frame that was much heavier than his own brought Sunstreaker to the ground. The chassis was on top of his own, pinning him to the hard floor beneath him.

Although the chassis was about the same weight as Sunstreaker with the helm severed it was still too bulky for the twin to push off. His arm was being held at a weird angle due to his sword being inside the chassis of the mech. Sunstreaker knew he would have to wait for the spasms to subside before he moved the big frame.

A couple of seconds passed before the twin pushed the now greying frame off of himself. Now that the twin had come out of his fighting zone he could hear clapping coming from somewhere. Glancing up at the bleacher area he saw a group of mechs and femmes looking down on him. They must have been there since the start of the event and seen all of it.

Sunstreaker was unsure of whether he was meant to feel proud or utterly sick that he had killed this mech. It had been either the mech's life or his own and in the end his instinct had one out. You fight to keep yourself alive that was the rule of this ring. Any other rules were non-existent. You were here for yourself and to fight to the death.

Withdrawing his sword from his opponents fame Sunstreaker looked over to where he had entered the ring. All he wanted to do now was get out of here and back to his cell. The boring and oppressive atmosphere of the cage would suit his mood right now perfectly. The slight pain that he could now feel in his cheekplates didn't really register. He just wanted to go and hide away from the world.

What would Sideswipe think of him now? When they had been in that medical bay Sideswipe could barely stand to look at him, after killing a mech would his twin even be able to stand sharing a room with him? The depressing thoughts started to well up in the twin's processor but he squashed them down for the moment, determined to at least get back to the cell before he contemplated them.

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Well there's the latest chapter. Two reviews and the next chapter will be up. :)


	15. Maintenance

Hey Everyone!

Here is chapter 15 :). This story certainly is very popular, not quite as popular as Life of a Datsun but very close. Didn't end up writing last night so I've some catching up to do. Got a little dragged in to some fics over on Fictionpress yesterday. I'm glad that you're all enjoying the story and it's absolutely great getting all the feedback. A special shout out to FractaUmbra who leaves wonderful detailed reviews that just make my day. :) Now, enjoy the chapter.

Mav

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Chapter 15

The doors which he had entered through slid open, the exit now clear to Sunstreaker. Ignoring everything around him the twin headed for the exit. Unsure of how to re-sheath his sword he left them in his servos. Vaguely he wondered if he would be taken back to the cell or fixed up but it didn't particularly matter either way.

The two enforcers were still at the entranceway to the passage, standing there with blank faces. To them it seemed as though Sunstreaker was zoned out, disconnected from everything but in reality that was not the case. The twin was caught up in his thought but not in the same way most of the other bots were. He was taking great pains not to end up like the other bots, determined to know what was going on around him at all times.

One of the enforcers stepped forward, taking hold of Sunstreaker's arm to lead him across the large room. They weren't heading back down to the areas for holding; instead they were heading in a whole new direction. Sunstreaker didn't know where they were taking him but he hoped that he would be returned to the comfort of the dark cells sometime soon.

The twin was led straight to another of the medical bays. Here the bay was slightly different, set up for actual repairs rather than frame swaps and weaponry allocation. No this was an area with actual medics to fix up his frame. This was the first time Sunstreaker had ever been seen to by an actual medic.

The medic was much like any of the other mechs he had seen outside of the cages. They were all quiet and grumpy, never really acknowledging their patients as actual bots. Instead they were treated much like a pet, something that had to be looked after but didn't have too much actual value.

Sunstreaker hopped up onto the berth without being asked too. It was pretty obvious what he had to do, likely it would be the same procedure in each and every bay. The mech moved over to him immediately, scanning his faceplates in order to assess the damage. Sunstreaker didn't flinch as the scan swept over him but the feeling of the highly technologically advanced procedure did unnerve the twin. How did he know that it wasn't doing more damage to him?

The mech spun away from him, muttering something about some welders and a wrench. Sunstreaker was unsure as to how these tools would help get the dents out of his faceplates and fix up the nerve endings. However, it didn't specifically matter how the bot did his job, only that he did it adequately.

The enforcer who had led the twin over leant against the wall, watching procedures with a close optic. Sunstreaker had been proven a good battle opponent so he now needed to be closely monitored in order to ensure maximum safety of the workers in the complex.

Sunstreaker held still as the mech started bashing out the creases in his faceplates. There was lots of work to be done but luckily it didn't hurt all that much. The sensor ending in his facial area had been greatly damaged by the fight, meaning nothing could be felt. Alongside this Sunstreaker was half zoned out, adding to the numbing affect.

Eventually the procedure was done and the twin was allowed to hop off of the berth. He stretched up, making sure to get all the kinks out of his back. He was starting to feel the aches and pains of battle now that he had some time to rest his systems. The enforcers weren't going to let him go back to his cell now though. Instead he was taken throughout the complex further

The next place he ended up was back in the same area he had been only orns before. Sunstreaker shied away from the bay where he had been transferred frames but luckily that wasn't where the enforcers were taking him. Instead he was taken to the other side of the room where there were numerous painting stalls. A few mech lingered around, obviously waiting for something to happen. They were all pretty relaxed, standing around drinking energon casually. It seemed as though none of them expected to have much work to do throughout the orn.

Along with the one enforcer who had been herding him along, two others had joined the first. Sunstreaker figured it was so that they would be able to keep him in line if he disliked what was going on. Alternatively, it could be to stop him escaping.

Escaping would be futile though. There were so many mechs here, most of them with strong armour that the twin would barely make it through a passageway before getting offlined. That was something that wasn't on the agenda in any shape or form. The whole reason he had fought back in that ring was to stay online and he wasn't about to jeopardise that now.

Two of the bots lounging around straightened up as the small group approached. They were obviously getting prepared for whatever their job was to be. None of them looked particularly flash, there were odd paint marks along their chassis, most likely from running the paint stall behind them.

Sunstreaker glanced towards the paint stall before focusing on these mechs. Hopefully he would get an interesting colour if he was to be painted now. It wasn't like the colour he was currently wearing was bad it was just that it was a little lacklustre. Hopefully these mechs would see that and retain the current colour.

The twin was pushed towards the first of the painting stalls. He was gruffly told to stand still with his legs spread apart. The door to the small enclosure was closed and Sunstreaker stood still. Nothing happened at first as the mech went around the side in order to do something to the settings.

The mech stood alongside the enclosure, taking a look at the different machinery. The colour this warrior currently had seemed to suit him so it would be a good idea to keep a similar colour. Something brighter and showier was needed though considering the crowd that would be coming to watch the fights. So far most of the mechs had black or grey colour schemes but these smaller mechs could do with some brighter colours. It would provide good contrast within the rings and certainly attract more bots.

A gold was selected before the machine was triggered on. Sunstreaker jolted slightly as the nozzles on either side of him started to spray. The liquid was cold and slimy as it stuck to his chassis. The twin quickly pulled the shutters over his optics to ensure none of the paint would get on them. The nozzles started at his pedes and worked their way up.

Sunstreaker shivered as the nozzles reached his chest area. This was the part of his body which ran the hottest and the change in temperature compared to his systems caused a great jolt. Luckily though it didn't affect the outcome of the paint on his chassis. The twin idly wondered how the inside of his legs and arms would be painted but it wasn't an overly large concern right now.

The tickle of the paint on his helm felt pleasant to the twin as he stood there. It certainly was an unusual experience for the mech. He had never before been painted, content with his base metal coloured frame. It wasn't like he had ever had the choice to get upgraded into a new colour.

The door to the enclosure stayed closed after the jets of paint had stopped. Instead, large fans switched on from all sides, drying the paint. There was no way he was being let out of this area with his paint still wet. It would be a waste of resources if it was allowed. The fans were uncomfortable due to how much colder they made the air. The unpleasant feeling of paint drying against him annoyed the twin but he stood still throughout the small procedure. It wasn't like it was acutally hurting him, just not the most pleasant of experiences.

The fans stopped and doors slid open. The twin was told to get out of the cylindered area and led over to a berth. Here he was told to lie down while the mech controlling the whole thing walked off to get some pain. The enforcers were still close by, monitoring everything.

The painting mech returned, a large tin of paint held in one servo and a paintbrush in the other. Setting the materials down beside Sunstreaker the bot settled down to work.

"Spread your legs," the mech demanded as he readied the paint brush.

The command certainly wasn't worded in quite the right way to instil trust but trust in this situation wasn't necessary. These bots only had to do their jobs and Sunstreaker was just a pawn that was used to make money. An expensive toy but the rewards were much better than the amount spent on him in total. The whole point of doing the operation in bulk was to save money in the long run. Use slaves to build and slaves in the rings. In that you saved a lot of credits, especially in employing people.

Sunstreaker spread his legs, wary of the mech's intentions. It was unlikely that this bot was going to rape him but there was always a chance. Sunstreaker wasn't naïve; he had been on the streets too long for that to happen. The twin knew just how common rape was, especially to do with mechs without much worth. It could even turn into a group rape if others were so inclined.

Instead of doing anything untoward to the twin the mech just started painting Sunstreaker's inner thigh. He relaxed slightly on the berth after he figured out the intentions of the mech. He didn't want to be too complacent though so he kept a wary optic on the bot.

In doing so Sunstreaker was able to inspect the paint that was being put on his chassis. It was the same colour as he had been wearing before but much shinier and a lighter shade. It was interesting that the mech had chosen to keep the colour the same but Sunstreaker certainly appreciated it.

The mech finished with Sunstreaker's legs and moved onto his arms. He had to keep his legs apart in order to get the paint to dry but that wasn't too much of an issue. It was slightly awkward but it was better than getting the paint stuck together and ruining all the work that had been done.

Sunstreaker lay there silently, letting the mech continue the ministrations on his chassis. The mech left at some point after finishing off the painting on his inner arms. Now all that needed to happen was for all the paint to dry. That wouldn't take long though as more fans had been set up.

It was quite obvious that the whole set up was very professional. Everything was designed to be the most efficient it could be, no time wasted anywhere. The only possible place that time was being wated was the large distances that needed to be travelled to get everywhere. However that didn't particularly affect the running and function of the entire complex so it probably wasn't important.

The repainting was finished and Sunstreaker was led back to his cell. The silence which had once been so oppressive was now a safe haven. No one was talking down here but no longer did that worry the twin, it left him time to think for himself. The enforcers left the twin in his cell, alone, to think about everything that had happened.

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Next up we see how Sideswipe deals with it all. I'm up to writing chapter 21 already for this fic. :)


	16. Sideswipe's First Kill

Hey Everyone!

Here is Chapter 16! Thanks to everyone who has been reading and reviewing this story. We have comments now instead of reviews but i'm going to treat them the same. Enjoy the chapter!

Anonymous: I'm so glad that you're enjoying this fic. I absolutely love being ahead for a bit but that's bound to stop once I run out of chapters to post and I'm writing at the same pace everyone is reading. :)

Mav

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Chapter 16

Sideswipe was off in his own cell, thinking about everything. His new frame was so different to the one he had inhabited before. It wasn't necessarily better but it certainly didn't feel as cramped as the old one. What the twin focused on more was how different Sunstreaker had looked and how their relationship had seemed so strange in those last few kliks together.

Sideswipe now regretted not talking to Sunstreaker when he had the chance. He may never see his twin again and the bond between them seemed to be getting weaker every orn. Where was his twin now? Was Sunstreaker sitting in a cell thinking the same things as he now was or was he off in the rings, forced to fight?

It felt as if the bond was blocked from Sunstreaker's end. Whether that was because of the pain or some other reason the twin didn't know but it hurt that his twin didn't particularly trust him. Of course Sideswipe had brought that on himself but Sunstreaker should understand-shouldn't he?

There was noise further up the corridor but Sideswipe thought nothing of it. Bots had been coming and going all day and now wasn't any different from all the other times. No one else in his cell was even aware of what was going on around them. Each of them had changed frames but it wasn't like they had woken up out of their revely throughout the experience.

Sideswipe sat there lost in thought for a while until an enforcer came to the entrance to his cell. Something was going on now and the twin wasn't particularly sure that he was looking forward to what was ahead. The enforcer's face didn't show any expression but the twin had a feeling that the gladiator rings were now operational. Was that what all the commotion had been about earlier?

The twin shivered slightly in fear. He didn't want to enter the rings and he certainly didn't want to have to offline anyone if he did go there. It scared him to think that he would have to take away someone's life with his own servos. The thought absolutely terrified him but the thought of inadvertently hurting Sunstreaker was worse. Sideswipe wasn't sure whether he would be able to kill if put up against an enemy but he would try, if only for his twin.

Sideswipe hoped that the enforcer would skip over him, call up one of the other mechs in order to take them out to the rings. There was no way he wanted to be the first from here, the other mechs could go first and he would have no qualms. Instead of hearing his plea Primus must have decided to play a cruel joke on the twin as he was led from the cell and towards the passageway he had been led down just orns before. On the orn that had changed his existence.

There were two enforcers with him, one on either side. The one on his right gripped his elbow tightly in order to lead him in the right direction. Sideswipe disliked being treated like a unruly and misbehaving youngling but didn't want to anger these mechs. He walked along quietly.

As he passed through the corridors by the cells he never knew that he passed right by his twin and never noticed. Sunstreaker's optics fixed on his twin for three astroseconds, optics widening in fright, not for himself but for his twin. Within the next joor he would know whether or not his twin made it through this ordeal. Either they would both be offline or they would be online. Hopefully Sideswipe would give it his all.

The twin was led through the large open area he had entered just a few orns ago. Without so many bots everywhere it looked large and empty. The noise of the three's pedesteps reverberated around the room, causing an echoing sound. The noise intrigued sideswipe but he didn't have any time to contemplate it as he was led from the area to a large metal wall.

He hadn't seen this on the way down, being on the other side of the river of bots. There was a sloping roof, sloping down sharply into this wall. There was no break in the metal so Sideswipe couldn't figure out why these enforcers were leading him towards it. Weren't they meant to be taking him to the rings? The entrance was bound to be somewhere else, away from all the watching optics.

Sideswipe had a similar astonishment to Sunstreaker as the metal slid open to reveal a small and oppressive passageway. It was awfully thin, just wide enough to allow the twin's body to pass through. There would be no room to turn around once he got in there. His only option would be to go forward, right out into the bright area at the end of the tunnel.

The twin wondered what kind of opponent he would be facing. Was the mech going to be the same size as him or larger? Was it likely that he would even make it through there? He had no weapons and no real way to defend himself. Sideswipe flashed back to the day in the alleyway when he had been beaten up by the different mechs there. It had hurt so much and the twin hadn't been able to defend himself.

It wasn't that he wouldn't try; it was that he had no real technique. There had never been anyone to teach the twins how to fight properly; it had never been a focus of their creators back when they had been alive. On the streets the twins had been too busy trying to survive to bother about learning how to throw a punch.

This would be Sideswipe's first real fight with him evenly matched against his opponents. It would be difficult but at least his armour was upgraded now. Before he had the fiddly and weak armour of a youngling, now his frame was built for fighting, for being in close contact with another bot. Hopefully that would help him out in the ring when he got there.

Sideswipe was shoved into the alleyway. His frame was clear of any weapons and the metal door shut behind him. Up ahead the twin could already see the light coming from the outside world, from the ring that he would now be entering. It was scary to think that his opponent was at the end of the tunnel just waiting to offlining him. This would not go well, not if he didn't keep his processor in the game.

The twin stepped out into the ring. He spared a quick glance around him and was sickened by the carnage. There were helms and chassis of offlined bots everywhere. They weren't just plain offlined chassis though, helms were dismember from the frame while energon was spilt everywhere across the ground.

Sideswipe wasn't even looking out for his opponent, too caught up on the scene in front of him. Had Sunstreaker already fought within this ring, was his body here somewhere? Or had his twin been responsible for the damage to one of these chassis'? Either way Sideswipe didn't want to contemplate it, especially not right at this second.

Hearing some noise from above the ring the twin snapped his helm around. There were seats everywhere, surrounding the ring. Already, sitting high up in the bleachers was a group of mechs. There were sitting there, optics focused on the fight while energon cubes sat in front of them on low tables. These were the paying guests for such violence?

Who could stand paying credits to watch carnage? How could bots actually enjoy watching other bots smash each other into oblivion? Sideswipe's processor was whirling with thoughts as he stood there, stock still looking up at the bleachers.

The twin hadn't bothered looking around the ring for the other mech who absolutely had to be there. After Sunstreaker's bout in the ring a different mech had been brought out to oppose the mechs they had lined up for the evening. The bots watching the show for entertainment value had immensely enjoyed the round with Sunstreaker so the enforcers were now keeping a close eye on the bot, he could earn the rings a lot of credits if his reputation got spread around.

Sideswipe was taken by surprise as a servo came out of nowhere to crash into his faceplates. That servo was quickly followed by another, this one impacting with the plating on his side. Pain blossomed as Sideswipe staggered back stunned. He had no time to recover as a pede came out of nowhere to sweep his legs out from underneath him.

Flashing back to the alleyway Sideswipe didn't even bother trying to push the bot on top of him off. Caught in the past he thought that he had his own frame, was still just a youngling with a mech pounding on him. Even though this wasn't the case Sideswipe didn't have enough control over his faculties to come to a logical conclusion.

Sideswipe was on the very verge of offlining when he finally remembered Sunstreaker, his twin. He was meant to be fighting so that he wasn't the cause of Sunstreaker offlining. There was no way he wanted his twin's life cut short just because he couldn't fight well enough in the rings. The twin had no clue where the power came from but Sideswipe just managed to push his opponent off of him.

Staggering to his feet Sideswipe stumbled his way backwards, away from the mech who had once been on top of him. He could hear clapping in the background but had no idea where it was coming from. There was energon pouring down his faceplates in a steady stream but the twin ignored that. The mech was back on his feet and heading straight for sideswipe.

The only option now was to use his servos to deliver some heavy blows to this mech. That was when Sideswipe noticed, the mech had much heavier armour than his own. Why, Sideswipe didn't know but it made the fight more unfair than it already was. It was quite obvious this mech was either trained or had experience here in the rings.

Sideswipe started moving away from his opponent, lurching into a run. There was no way he was going to stay still and be beaten upon by this mech. It would be even more painful than the wounds he had already received. However there was no way he was giving up yet, Sunstreaker's life depended on it.

Sideswipe knew that Sunstreaker would do anything to defend him so now it was the twin's chance to prove himself. Agility was key here but it seemed as though his opponent was okay in the agility area even if he was bulky.

The twin ran around the ring, circling back in order to intercept the other mech. It was surprising just how large the fighting area actually was. There was certainly lots of room to run around and get away from each other. The simple fact that they were penned in meant they would never be able to get away from each other. They had no option but to fight to the death.

Sideswipe tackled the large mech from the side, pushing him to the ground. The mech hadn't been ready for this development and the twin managed to get a few solid punches in before his opponent recovered. Unfortunately the mech then rolled Sideswipe over, using his heavier weight and larger frame to pin the twin down. Blows started raining down on Sideswipe's entire frame.

The twin started writhing around on the ground, trying to get out from his opponents' grip. There was no way he was going to stay here and get beaten to a pulp. With a lot of wriggling around the twin managed to get free and darted away to start running around the ring again. The mech was close behind but his larger frame didn't help him in this situation.

Sideswipe figured his opponent mustn't be very bright considering the way he was going about the fight. It seemed as though the mech was crazed, crazed with a thirst to offline. For sideswipe he still had his processor functioning and helping him get to the goal. Sidestepping and crossing back and forth help the twin get rid of the opponent on his tail.

The tackle had worked before and now Sideswipe went in to repeat the manoeuvre. It was just as successful the second time as the first, possibly even more so now. Sideswipe tackled the mech to the ground and punched him a few times but before Sideswipe could get pinned to the ground he jumped off of his opponent and darted away in order to be clear of his arm radius. This time no damage was inflicted to the twin but slowly his opponent was getting worn out.

It was awfully obvious now that the mech wasn't using his processor. It was likely that if Sideswipe kept continuing with the same pattern he would be able to eventually offline the mech. However punches weren't getting to the root of the problem, it was going to take a long time to even get this opponent into stasis. No he would have to tear out the energon tubes along the back of the mech's neck. They were fairly unprotected and it didn't seem as though he was protecting them all that much.

Going in with the same tactic as before Sideswipe took down the mech except this time he came in from behind. This meant that the mech was pinned to his front on the ground. Sideswipe had full access to the writing on the back of this opponent's neck. Gripping the lines tightly in one servo Sideswipe yanked all of the wiring, tearing it out of the chassis.

Underneath him the mech wriggled slightly as the relays in his back were fired off. Sideswipe just sat astride the mech until the movement had subsided. There was energon pooling on the ground beneath him and his hands were coated in it. Suddenly the rush of the battle wore off and the twin slumped onto the ground.

The twin was badly damaged, energon leaking from everywhere on his frame. Mechs started rushing into the ring in order to get Sideswipe out of there. The damage inflicted was reversible but he needed to get into one of the medical rooms as soon as possible. A stretcher was carried out into the ring and the twin gently removed from the area.

Sideswipe was mainly unaware of what was going on around him. Everything hurt; he could feel each punch that had been inflicted on his chassis. There was a hum around his head and some footsteps nearby but they weren't of any real importance to the twin. He was much too focused on his spark and the way the bond was quickly fading away. He couldn't feel any connection at all with Sunstreaker, was he okay?

The bots carrying Sideswipe to the medical bay were worried. They had the other mech who had one a round in there already and none of them could figure out what the issue was. The mech who had swapped them both between frames was already there, giving all the details he knew on the two mechs. Hopefully the medical bots could figure out what was going on or they would lose two of their best mechs for entertainment.

The crowd had loved Sideswipe and Sunstreaker and many of them were already contemplating what it would be like to watch them both compete together in the ring. They would certainly be a formidable force against any opponent. The possibility of doing doubles in the ring intrigued all of them and would certainly be a suggestion for the future.

Sunstreaker had been sitting in his cell, worrying over what was happening to Sideswipe. He had been terrified when he had watched his sibling walk out towards the rings flanked by the two enforcers. He just wasn't a fighter and undoubtedly would have issues going into the ring. As he sat there the twin was thinking over everything that could go wrong with Sideswipe in the ring. It hurt his spark to think that his twin could be offlined within the next few kliks. None of the rounds in the ring took very long but when you were in there it felt like joors. Sunstreaker had been timing how long it was taking between times that the enforcers were collecting the bots from their cells.

There were around twenty clicks between each time the enforcers came below into the caged area. Either these mechs were being killed faster than Sunstreaker had managed to kill his opponent or the match had been an extremely quick one.

The twin sat there in silence, optics trained towards the stairwell in hopes of seeing his twin led right back down the stairs. He sat there like that for many clicks until pain came shooting through his spark. There had been a background sort of pain there since they had been changed into their new frames but this was different. It was a searing pain that certainly meant Sideswipe was in trouble. If this was the end then at least they were both going together.

Sunstreaker curled over where he was sitting, unbeknownst to him there were enforcers watching his every move. The second he curled up in pain they were at the doorway to the cage and entering it with ease. Neither wasted a second in picking him up off of the floor and carrying him upstairs. Sunstreaker tried to struggle for a little bit but finding it useless he succumbed to being carried up to the normal level of the complex.

He didn't bother concentrating on anything going on around him. Instead the twin focused on his spark and everything that was concentrated there. There were no thoughts coming from Sideswipe just a whole lot of pain. Was Sideswipe already offline or was he just fighting at the moment? The question was left unanswered as the twin was placed on a bunk.

Medics hovered around Sunstreaker trying to figure out why he was in pain. The twin didn't say anything that could help them out; mindful of the warning he had received before. Kup entered the medbay at some point and Sunstreaker could hear his voice droning on in the background. Sideswipe though, that was all the twin was worried about.

The pain increased a lot more after a few more kliks. Sunstreaker wondered what had happened now to cause all this extra pain. However he didn't dwell on it too much as there started to be intense activity off to the side of the great room. It seemed as though a whole group of enforcers and other bots were heading towards the medical bay where he was now. Were they bringing Sideswipe over here?

The group entered the bay but some of the enforcers stayed to guard the entrance to the area. Sunstreaker wasn't able to catch a glimpse of who it was they were carrying as they came into the room. Instead he just laid there as mechs started clustering around the other berth.

The amount of pain in Sunstreaker's spark didn't subside but the connection between him and his twin did fade a little. The bond faded just as the medical bot injected some serum into the mech on the other berth. Then Sunstreaker knew that it was his twin which was on that berth.

Sideswipe was slipping in and out of consciousness as he was carried out of the ring and through the large chamber. There were mechs everywhere, surrounding him. He didn't feel as he was placed on the berth nor did he notice the crowd around him thinning. He felt a bit of recognition through the bond before the needle entered his lines and he fell offline.

Sunstreaker just lay there, ignored by the medics now. Obviously the injuries his twin had incurred were much worse that his own issues of the spark. It wasn't like there was anything actually wrong with Sunstreaker except for the fact that his twin was so badly injured.

There were sounds of dents being banged out and the noise of soldering as split lines were welded back together. The noise was background to the pain in his spark. As the repairs progressed the pain in his spark started to fade. Soon enough it was at a tolerable point, almost at the same level it had been before Sideswipe had been taken into the ring.

Eventually a medical bot came over to see what was going on with Sunstreaker and found the twin sitting up on the berth. No longer was the pain restricting his movements and so the twin had pulled himself up. Sunstreaker was trying to catch a glimpse of Sideswipe, wanting to see the full extent of the damage. It didn't matter that his twin's chassis was different from when they had been on the streets, Sideswipe's expressions would still be the same and Sunstreaker could tell when a bot was hurt.

The mech just gave Sunstreaker a cursory look over before running a scan. Everything showed up fine except for a slightly lower than normal readout from his spark. That was to be expected though considering the frame swap which had only occurred a short while ago. Most mech's spark readouts fluctuated after changing frames due to the different amount of power needed to run the chassis. Sunstreaker was just taking a little longer than normal to adjust. The medical bot noted down that the twin needed more medical grade energon than usual in order to keep his systems running properly.

Sunstreaker was shown back to the cell without ever catching a glimpse of his twin. Obviously the mech who had swapped their frames hadn't given their secret away to any of these bots. Eventually it would be figured out but it was more likely that they would be offline before they actually got found out.

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Review please? Thanks for reading!


	17. A Clean and a Paint

Hey Everyone!

Wow, there were so many comments coming in overnight it was crazy! SunnySidesofBlue you were the 30th reviewer so take your pic of high grade that you would like :). I'm sure you know the drill by now. I'll get back to everyone's reviews tonight and I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Mav

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Chapter 17

Sideswipe was brought out of stasis slowly. The twin had no idea where he was, only that he was no longer in the ring. There were hazy memories of voices around him and the feeling of his twin being close but other than that Sideswipe couldn't remember anything that had happened after he had killed his opponent.

The twin could hear a mech moving around beside him but there was no bot in his line of vision. Undoubtedly there were enforcers somewhere nearby in order to keep him calm in the case of any emergency. There was no way the complex was going to risk there well trained staff in the presence of these "roguish" fighters.

Idly Sideswipe wondered about the enforcers and why they hadn't yet bashed up any of the prisoners. Was it because they would risk their own jobs if they did so? The twin thought it the most likely reason as these mechs were as uncouth as any of the other bots brought in off the streets into this complex.

A face appeared in Sideswipe's line of vision and seemed as though their lip plates were moving. The twin couldn't hear a word that was spoken, his audio receivers still offline. When they did come back into function they were working but just barely. Everything that he heard was scratchy and broken up, almost as if he were hearing everything through a long distance telephone connection when the speed wasn't fast enough for proper call connection.

Instead of trying to pay attention to the words Sideswipe just started interpreting the hand gestures of the medical bot. There was no way he was going to be able to adequately decipher everything this mech was trying to tell him. An enforcer came over and took Sideswipe's arm to lead him off to a different part of the complex.

Here were a bunch of shower stalls, or at least that was what it looked like to Sideswipe. There was energon all over his frame, there from the fight in the ring. The twin had barely noticed it when he had been fighting but now that the rush was gone he could notice such things. Sideswipe spared a thought for Sunstreaker and how he would have freaked out at seeing Sideswipe so grimy.

Sideswipe knew that Sunstreaker hated grime on a chassis, especially if it was in between the joints of a bot. The twin wasn't exactly sure why Sunstreaker disliked all the grime but he certainly made the connection now. It did not feel nice at all.

The mech was shoved into one of the shower stalls before the wash sequence was started up. First came the rinse followed by the soap and another rinse. At least now Sideswipe was clean enough to get painted, which was all the enforcers particularly cared about at this point in time.

Sideswipe was removed from the shower and dragged over to another bay, this one set up for painting chassis. There were two mechs here still on duty. It seemed as though all they wanted to do was to get out of here and get some sleep. Both looked weary and tired, as if they had experienced a very long day.

The twin figured that these mechs couldn't be anywhere near as exhausted as he felt. There wasn't a part of his body that wasn't aching dully while his mind desperately needed a rest. For once the outgoing twin just wanted the silence of the cells around him. He needed to get his thoughts sorted out soon otherwise he would go crazy with all the thinking without coming to a conclusion.

With the same pomp and ceremony that Sunstreaker had gone through Sideswipe was painted. The fact that he had grime in his joints didn't matter, paint was just sprayed on and the fact ignored. None of the frames were going to last if they kept getting treated this way.

Of course it mightn't even matter to the mechs running the whole business. Most of them would be offline before the frames wore out. Admittedly though, many a bot would fall offline due to their frames not functioning properly in battle. Sideswipe could feel the grime in his joints and it made him feel disgusting. He thought Sunstreaker was the filth conscious one out of the two of them but apparently not.

Finishing up with the two painting mechs Sideswipe was taken back down into the cage. Here was the darkness that the twin had been craving for so long. He felt optics fixed on him as he walked through the hallways but payed no attention to them, too busy walking on to get back to his cell. All he wanted was to be left alone with his thoughts.

Soon enough the enforcers left him alone, disappearing to the above ground arena. There really was minimal monitoring down here in the cells. The bots could offline each other without any action from the enforcers. Really, that was a quite bad set up on someone's behalf.

What Sideswipe didn't know was that there were enforcers stationed along each hallway with cameras designed for the minimal light conditions in each cell. They were all being monitored constantly but the way it was designed meant that the bots were all cast in to being a bit too complacent in their cells. The enforcers who monitored the cages on the ground were some of the most trusted of the force, ensuring that the prisoners wouldn't be rendered worthless due to some pitiful brawling.

Each bot represented credits and credits could not be wasted. All those who were now in the cells were worth a lot of credits. The crowds would end up paying thousands just to see one match between the bots who been acquired for free. None of those individual bots knew just how much money they were actually bringing to the ancients who were running the show.

Sideswipe settled down in a corner of the cell, curling up into a ball. He didn't care what everyone else in the cell as thinking, too busy with his own thoughts. Most of them were focused in on themselves, paying no attention to what was going on around them. Although the twin didn't want to be one of those bots he soon turned out to be one.

Through Sideswipe's processor ran thousands of flashbacks. From the moment he entered the ring with specific emphasis on when he had killed his opponent. The energon continuously plagued his mind, the disembodied helms which had laid around the rings.

What haunted him most was the optics of the bots who had been watching the show. They had been so cold and calloused having no issue watching such violence occurring in front of them. What was worse was that they all seemed to enjoy it. They enjoyed watching bots lose their lives, falling offline in the most brutal of ways. Was this really how mechs wanted to live?

Sideswipe knew that if he had been a mech with credits to spend he wouldn't have been coming to the rings. No, he would much rather spend his credits on decent energon, a nice frame and a good place to rest each night. Those were the simplest things that any bot needed but so many did without. While these mechs, the cruel and sparkless bots, watched other mechs offline each other, energon staining the ground.

The twin's spark clenched as he thought about the life he had taken away. Was the bot just like him? Taken off the streets and forced to fight in the rings alongside so many other bots? Or was he different, someone here of his own free will and willing to fight to the death

The questions would never be answered, the mech was offline now. That simple fact would forever weight on Sideswipe's processor. He knew it would, even now when a lifetime stretched in front of him. The questions that could never be answered always plagued a processor never letting a bot get a full restful recharge.

The twin tried to move his processor to another line of thought. However, his processor certainly didn't want to focus on anything more positive, continuing is downward spiral. There were so many questions to ask but no one to ask them to, except himself.

Would he turn into a crazed killer? One who would want nothing more than to kill the next bot who came into sight? Was there any real way for him to maintain his personality while fighting against others? Sunstreaker seemed to manage conflict just fine, never really worrying about it or changing because of it. Why couldn't he be like that?

Sunstreaker...had he gone through the same thing? Had his brother been like the mech he was up against, someone ready for the fight? Had he questioned and doubted himself in the ring like Sideswipe had? Sideswipe didn't think so; Sunstreaker just did what needed to be done and slagged the consequences.

Sunstreaker never really changed, not once they were on the streets. Of course there had been the drastic change after the death of their creators but since then he had been a stable entity, never changing. Some orns he would be moodier than others but he was always reliable and dependable. You could depend on Sunstreaker being grumpy and withdrawn. You could depend on Sunstreaker to defend you in a fight or find you if you were lost.

There was no way his twin would have changed just because of a simple fight that just wasn't Sunstreaker. He would have faced it the same way he faced everything else, with blank faceplates and a processor whirling a mile a minute. That was just Sunstreaker, the way he worked. Sideswipe had to rely on that image of his twin to keep going.

Sideswipe always wanted to be like Sunstreaker, even though he probably wasn't the best of role models. He never really changed and was always calm. That was how Sideswipe wanted to be. It never did work out for Sideswipe though, always his own bot. He couldn't be the withdrawn one, it wasn't in his personality. He craved talking to others, doing fun things and not worrying about consequences. He didn't get much of a chance to do the last but he certainly did talk with many people despite circumstances.

These rings would change him, the twin knew it. Sideswipe didn't think he would ever be the same mech again, able to just talk about anything and put the hazardous situations to the back of his processor. He would be changed, most likely forever. The twin didn't like the thought but knew it was true.

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I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Review please?


	18. Glory

Hey Everyone!

I was just stunned at the great response the last three chapters have had! Thank you so much to everyone who has been commenting and reviewing, it's great! Here is a 3k chapter which I hope you will all enjoy. Hopefully I'll get to my goal of 60k tonight despite people coming over for dinner etc. :)

Mav

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Chapter 18

Sunstreaker sat in his cell, stared out of the cage. The whole complex was getting emptier, bots being removed every joor. Had the full on fights started yet, or were there just exclusive audiences watching the preliminary battles? It didn't really matter either way did it? Not really. Sunstreaker would be called on again to fight and he would, just like the first time. Maybe he would have different weapons or use the ones he had last time. It didn't matter. The bots running the show would get their credits whether Sunstreaker lived or died. All they needed was the battle, the energon lust created within the rings.

No one knew when the enforcers would come for them, adding to the suspense in the cages. The bots above the twin had been taken away, most of them not returning. Two of the more outgoing ones from the conversation orns ago had returned. It could have been luck that they survived or an uncanny skill that they had picked up on the spur of the moment. Either way they were online and going to go through another battle.

Occasionally Sunstreaker thought that it might have been better if he had offlined in the ring. It would have been so simple to just give up, to let the other mech offline him. If he had have been offlined Sideswipe would never have faced the rings and the two would not have to face battle again. It was just so difficult being away from his twin for so long.

There was a permanent ache in his spark, always there and getting stronger every orn. The twin thought it could have been from being separated from his twin for so long but there were many other factors that could have contributed to the issue.

Still, Sunstreaker hadn't realised how much he relied on his twin throughout the orns. One or two orns was fine being separated but now that it had been over five it was becoming difficult. Sunstreaker needed to know that Sideswipe was online, still functioning despite the fights going on. He needed to know that his twin's spark still burnt hot within his chest plates. Sunstreaker just needed to know what was going on with his twin. Not for any particular reason, just because he needed to.

Sunstreaker figured it was the distance and the time spent apart that was hurting his spark. This desperate need to see his twin must have been coming from his spark or be the cause of the pain in his park. Either way it didn't matter, he just wanted to be near Sideswipe. There was no way that was going to happen any time soon though, especially not with the rings running in their current way.

The twin sat there, continuing to look at the pathway outside his cell as he contemplated the next match. He may as well have a plan for the next battle, even if he didn't stick to it. Sunstreaker at least wanted to keep his helm in the game this time, rather than relying on instincts like he had in the last battle. It may have got him through once but it most likely wouldn't again.

He would need to size up his opponent as soon as he got into the ring. It was likely that they would be of an even size so as to make the fight more dramatic. That way it would be a longer match with much more energon spilt. Evenly matched rounds always went longer than the ones that were swayed either way.

First of all, if the other mech was larger than him, frame wise he should go back to his darting movement, using his agility above all else. If he was the larger of the two he would have to make sure to protect his weak spots and be prepared for any hits that would come from his opponent. Either way he needed to be prepared for an attack from the enemy and some interesting moves.

The doors to the underground passageway opened again, letting through three enforcers. Usually only two were sent down so this fact piqued Sunstreaker's curiosity. They must be getting down to the better bots if they were bringing more enforcers down. There wasn't any bots in the twin's cell who hadn't already been through a battle so it was likely that they were on to round two. Sunstreaker was hoping not to be picked and to be picked at the same time. \

If he wasn't picked then he would be able to stay alive longer, remain locked up in his thoughts and think through the coming fight. If he was picked now then there would be no time for wallowing, for getting into depressive thoughts. Surely it was just a better option to go now and get it over and done with. Watching so many other mechs walk to their offlining had shaken the twin, even if he didn't want to admit it openly.

The enforcers continued down the hallway. They had even measured footsteps, totally in synch with one another. None of them spoke. It was the same drill every time they came to collect a bot from the cages. No one would speak, not a word would be said until the bot was in the ring and facing his opponent. Afterwards they would be quiet but a few words would have to be spoken. Never was any sound heard from the enforcers within the underground tunnels.

Sunstreaker sat there, knowing, just knowing that it was him. He had made an impression, hadn't he? A fairly good impression last time he was in the ring. Of course this meant that he would be popular in the rounds to come, especially if the last fight was anything to go by. How many bots would there be watching him? Enjoying the carnage and he fought to stay online and defeat his opponent?

The door creaked open, the twin moved to a standing position, not even needing the enforcers to grab him by the arm. There was no one else that they would be coming for. There had to be some impressive fights before some of the more average ones. What if this was the first big audience fight? Then for sure he would have a difficult time out there. They wanted the best fights at the start so Sunstreaker would have to perform. Did this mean he would have different weapons and an opponent who perfectly matched him? Sunstreaker hoped not but it was probably the case.

He walked out of the cell, helm head high. There was no point in looking like he wasn't prepared when he certainly was. He was going to take down this opponent, just like the last and get the hell out of the ring. Sunstreaker knew he had to make sure that he ignored the audience, no matter what. If he got distracted that would be the end of him and Sideswipe.

Up the stairs he went, remembering the last time he had come up here. Hopefully, hopefully he would return right back down these very same stairs at the end of the fight. He didn't want to be responsible for the death of his twin and he didn't want to look like a pitiful pansy in front of the audience. He was strong, always had been.

There was the weaponry bay, right in front of him. From his position at the top of the stairwell Sunstreaker could already hear the crowd cheering, the stomp of feet as they prepared for the match. It sounded like the entire population of Kaon and Iacon had been put into one arena. Surely there couldn't be that many bots that got off on watching a fight.

Sunstreaker sat down on the berth and tuned out the mech in front of him. There were swords and blasters lining the walls. Really it didn't matter what he was given to fight with, he would win no matter what. Finally there were swords sheathed within the subspaces in his arms and knives in the holders in his legs. He was ready for this fight; any opponent that came against him was going down.

There was a flicker of something across the bond but it was barely there. Sunstreaker only just noticed it but as soon as the emotion appeared it was gone. Maybe Sideswipe had felt his passion for the fight ahead or maybe it had been a trick of the imagination. Either way, it was time.

It felt like forever as Sunstreaker was pushed across the room, directly beneath the hoard of bots awaiting the fight to begin. Were there younglings there, as eager to watch the fight as their creators? Or were they all adults, spending their hard earned credits to watch the show?

The tunnel ahead of Sunstreaker opened but the door at the other end didn't. He was shoved in from behind and encompassed in the dark. This was something he was used to, the dark. He resided in darkness now so this was no problem. It would be the blinding light as soon as he entered the ring that would cause problems for him.

The walls were right beside him on either side. Sunstreaker didn't have to reach his arms out in order to touch the walls, they were right there. Instead of dry and smooth like they were last time, Sunstreaker could feel slime on the walls, oozing down. Was it energon? Or was it some substance purposely put there to freak the bots out before they entered the ring? Sunstreaker just ignored it and focused on the doors he knew were ahead of him.

He walked forward and waited, the door was right in front of him. The noise outside was getting louder; the crowd was getting riled up. It was almost time, almost time to go out there and offline another bot. To spill the energon of a fellow Kaon bot who had done nothing to deserve this fate. It was time, to fight.

The doors whooshed open and Sunstreaker was out, gone like a bat out of hell. He moved to the left side of the ring, already searching for his opponent. The crowd was going wild, roaring in approval. Sunstreaker could hear every shout of encouragement coming from the stands and found that he liked it. He was being cheered on, they wanted him to win.

Instead of being distracting the crowd was helping Sunstreaker. The encouragement helped him, gave him more confidence. There was his opponent, a very even match. This was going to be an interesting round. Was he going to be able to continue thinking or was he going to end up working off of his basic instincts?

The other mech spotted him, making a beeline across the ring. He looked as though he had gone through a fairly easy round last time. There was no light of battle in his optics, nothing to suggest that he had gone through anything at all difficult. Sunstreaker was sure that it showed on him, the difficulty of the last round. How could his thoughts not have affected how he appeared now.

Sunstreaker stepped away from the mech's charge; this was going to be interesting. Darting around he smashed a servo into the back of his opponent's back plates. He earned a roar of pain from the mech and twirled away, ready for him to make his next move. The crowd was going wild, loving the feeling of the ring, the atmosphere around the fight.

The twin could feel the power in him, the power to end a life, to protect what was his. The power coursed through his energon lines, strengthened his armour. He was ready for this mech, whatever was thrown at him. Whether the crowd realised the thoughts or not they became even louder.

Sunstreaker's opponent turned towards him and spat energon out of his mouth. He had thought this was going to be easy, defeating this shiny mech in all his glory. He had heard about this one, how magnificent his last fight had been in the ring. He hadn't thought it was going to be hard, had thought that the rumours were untrue, lies that just needed to be spread.

It seemed though that the other bots had been right, he was a difficult opponent. He was going to take everything to take down. There was no way this shiny armoured bot was going down without a fight. It was almost like he had something to fight for, something else spurring him on. Was he getting paid? Highly unlikely. Then what was he working for?

Sunstreaker stood there, stock still as he waited for his opponent. The mech was thinking about something and thinking very hard. He was probably thinking up a plan that would work against Sunstreaker, something that would enable this mech to take him down with ease. Sunstreaker just mentally laughed, scorning this mech for thinking that he would be able to take the twin down. He had a cause to fight for and he would win this battle. Losing wasn't an option.

The mech charged again, a folly from Sunstreaker's point of view. It hadn't worked the first time so why would you try it again? Sunstreaker stepped to the side, just enough to be out of the way of the mech but close enough to plant his fist in the mech's faceplates as he came through. There was a crunch and then energon coated Sunstreaker's servo. This mech was going to go down too easily; he needed a plan if he was going to get anywhere now.

Sunstreaker waltzed away, ready for the next attack. His weight was on his toes, ready to move whichever way he needed to. The opponent was already spinning around, ready to go and take down Sunstreaker. He was ready though, ready for this mech to face him in a battle of the fists.

The crowd was on edge, waiting for the next move. There were yells and cheers as the first two punches had landed. The atmosphere here was intense, you could feel the sparks flying between these two mech's in the ring. They knew they had to fight to the death and it was going to be entertaining.

All around Cybertron bots watched from their houses as these two mechs faced off against each other. Video screens everywhere were tuned in to this match. Sparkling and younglings played on the floor in front of the screens while creators watched the match. The golden ages of peace and prosperity were crashing down in these few moments. Violence and hatred were once again entering the lives of everyone.

Cheers erupted around Cybertron as each punch was thrown. The bright energon staining the ring just added to the violence and the graphic nature of the fight. Everyone loved watching it, enjoyed the fight that was now displayed. Every mech held within the cells wanted nothing more than to be free, wandering the streets while these bots wanted to see them fight.

Sunstreaker kept his optics on his opponent. The mech was moving closer, not using a charge this time. They would end up having an all-out fist fight and the twin was ready for it. The mech moved in close and Sunstreaker didn't waste any time. His servo lashed out, catching the mech in the faceplates. He retracted his servo and dodged the servo aimed at his own faceplates.

Energon was now smeared across his chassis but the twin didn't pay any attention to it. Likely it would be cleaned off after the fight anyways. Right now he needed to kill his opponent. The slight moment of distraction proved useful for the opposing mech as a servo connected with Sunstreaker's faceplates.

The twin moved with the blow, spinning and darting away. The mech followed through with the punch, ending up on the ground. Pain shot through Sunstreaker's faceplates but he barely recognised it. Gone was the rational thinking that he had wanted to maintain so desperately. Instead he was now relying on his instincts. He kicked his opponent in the gut and waited for him to stand up. He wanted this fight to be majestic.

Sunstreaker got ready. There was no pain just an intense concentration on the fight at hand. The mech in front of him was staggering to his feet, getting ready to fight as well. Where his opponent had laid there was now a pool of energon. He wasn't going to last long.

The crowd was roaring but the twin didn't notice. His world was eerily quiet, not even the sound of his own vents could be heard. There was just focus, a focus on the mech in front of him. His optics were trained on his opponent and his frame was ready for the fight.

The mech moved in again, ready to swing another punch. His arm moved and Sunstreaker blocked it, landing a punch of his own. Energon poured forth from the broken plating on his opponent's left faceplates. The optic on the left side of the helm fizzled out, making the mech more unstable.

Sunstreaker didn't need to worry about his opponent now; there was no way he was going to come back from this. The mech could barely stand up straight as was wobbling around. Some serious damage must have been done to his stabilisers in order to cause that.

The twin snarled as he leaped forwards, smashing a servo through the mech's chest plates. He just barely missed the spark chamber and punched a hole right through the mech's chest plates. This opponent was going down.

There needed to be a spectacular finish though, something that would be shown off for a long time to come. He wanted the audience to remember this fight, remember how he had fought. So the twin unsheathed his swords, their silver length glinting in the light. The twin didn't hear the roar of approval from the crowd, instead just acting how he wanted to.

The sword was out, a power all of its own in his servo. There were the energon lines of his opponent, just waiting to be severed. He would win this round and both his brother and himself would live on until the next match. Sunstreaker paused, questioning himself and the crowd waited with baited breath.

The sword was slowly pulled across the mech's energon lines. Bright energon streamed from the cut, running down the opponent's chest plates, coating his chassis. Sunstreaker sheathed the sword. The crowd was going wild. Everywhere they were out of their seats hands up in the air, pedes stamping on the ground. This was all for him, for the fight he had just competed in.

The energy of the crowd carried Sunstreaker. He pumped his fists in the air, eating off of the crowd's enthusiasm. He would think about the consequences of all of this later when he actually had a chance to think. Right now was his moment of glory, his time to show off just how good he was. Right now he had the most attention he had ever held and he revelled in it. He loved this attention, loved being something that was recognised and cherished, even if it was in a rather sick way.

There was the pull at his spark again and Sunstreaker ignored it. Right now was his moment and in a minute he would focus on Sideswipe and what was going on with his twin. Sunstreaker walked around the ring, fists up in the air. Everywhere he walked more bots yelled and screamed, the atmosphere electric.

At home the families cheered, their new favourite bot had just one a match. This was the bot they were now going to root for. The sparklings on the ground in front of the video screens caught a glimpse of the energon and carnage, whimpering oh so slightly. The sounds of distress weren't picked up by the creators at all.

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Did you enjoy the chapter? Review please!


	19. New Room

Hey Everyone!

So a chapter a little bit shorter than usual but it is a chapter. Sorry for not getting it up sooner, the internet and decided to have a little dispute. I'm up to writing chapter 24, meaning we're only three chapters away from where Life of a Datsun is up to. Camp is officially over and I got my 60k that I wanted. That's right, this story is over 60k long so far. We're finally making a dent in the plot of this piece!

Mav

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Chapter 19

The enforcers entered the ring through the door Sunstreaker's opponent had entered through, coming in to collect the twin. Sunstreaker regretted the fact that he now had to leave the ring. However he knew he needed to go, the darkness would be waiting and he would be able to evaluate all that had happened. What was Sideswipe going to think now? Was his twin even going to be able to recognise him at all? Sunstreaker doubted it.

The enforcers took him from the ring, Sunstreaker slightly disoriented by going out through the opposite exit. He didn't realise he wouldn't be going back to the darkness, instead going to go and see the brightness of proper rooms, the likes of which he hadn't seen in orns.

A hallway, brightly lit greeted Sunstreaker as he walked through the doorways. Here there wasn't an open area, starkly lit with fluorescent lights. Instead they were soft lighting, the kind found in upmarket areas. The fairly narrow hallway widened out as Sunstreaker was led along. When it widened out fully Sunstreaker was surprised by just how big it was. The twin couldn't hear the sound of the crowd anymore, the noise muffled by the thick insulation here.

Sunstreaker peered around him. This was the area for the better performing bots and Sunstreaker figured he had just made it to those ranks. This was where the other mechs had come from, that first bot he had faced down. There was an exclusive bay off to the side which Sunstreaker figured was for fixing up damage from the battle.

This was where the twin was led first. Sunstreaker didn't focus on the medic as he sat on the berth, staring at the ground. The medic moved around, making sure to get rid of all the dents on his frame. Instead of a shabby job like the other medic's had done this mech now gave him a full scan, checking for any other injuries. There were none, luckily. Sunstreaker vaguely wondered if the fact he was a twin could turn up on a scan but figured it wouldn't, it hadn't before so why would it now?

He was led away from the medical bay and into some wash racks. Instead of a lot of individual wash racks like in the other section this was a large open room. There were rows upon rows of wash racks, obviously set up for a lot of mechs to be in there at one time. Sunstreaker went over to one of the shower heads and ran the water. He cleaned of his frame with precision, thankfully getting rid of all the grime that was on his frame.

In his joints there were layers of gunk he had been unable to clean out. Now he was able to and it was with great relief that he got rid of the petulant dirt. Switching off the shower he gave himself a shake and followed after the enforcers. They were obviously on a mission to take him somewhere. Sunstreaker figured he wasn't going back to the cells now and had no choice but to follow these mechs.

Now he was led to an area that looked very similar to the pain bay. The same mechs who had been in the other painting bay were here now; ready to work on his frame again. He wouldn't need a full paint, just a touch up to the coat from before.

Sunstreaker was settled on the berth and paint was put onto his faceplates. Nowhere else had taken any damage so this was the only spot in need of a repaint. The feeling of the brush on his faceplates was cool and soothing. This was something the twin enjoyed, the feeling of the brush over his plating.

After the paint came the polish. It was spread all over his frame, adding a gleam he had never seen before. He had thought that the paint was shiny before but now he gleamed. He shone out like a sun, a star in the far reaches of space. Sunstreaker felt good, shiny and certainly beautiful for once in his existence.

Sunstreaker left the bay quite regretfully. He enjoyed the time when he was painted but now he was off and following the enforcers yet again. This end of the base was just a mess of passageways throughout the building. They reached a passageway which had doors off on every side every couple of paces.

Really it looked as though this was an upscale version of the cages. More personalised than the cells but of the same design. Maybe they would sleep in the cells together or they would be private areas for each mech. Sunstreaker was curious about this as he was led down the hallway further.

They stopped outside a door and the two enforcers stood on either side of the twin. The third enforcer opened the door and gestured for Sunstreaker to go inside. None of them spoke as the twin entered the room and the door was shut behind him.

Sunstreaker stepped forward and looked around the area. There was a berth leant up against the right side of the room, the only piece of furniture there. The rooms were designed for one bot only and Sunstreaker thought he knew why. If they were all fighting in the rings why wouldn't they fight each other outside of the rings. This was to ensure that there weren't any fights outside of the ring and so that the paying customers saw all of the conflict that happened within the complex. You wouldn't want the owners of the ring to lose any credits.

The twin walked around the small room before settling on the berth. The room was an ordinary metal grey, nothing out of the ordinary there. It was literary just a small square box of a room with a berth in it. Sunstreaker had hoped, just slightly that there would be another berth in here to allow two mechs to be in together. However he knew just how bad that could go if things got nasty.

Sideswipe was on the other side though...still in the darkness of the cells. Maybe it would be better if Sideswipe was there rather than here. Surely the fact of being alone would drive his twin insane. At least over there he was in a room with other mechs and able to talk to them if he so wished. In a room by himself the twin would go crazy that was for sure.

Sunstreaker just sat there, thinking about the fight he had just gone through. He had thrived on the attentions of the audience. At the end he had spotted the camera's, knowing that the fight had been broadcast all across Cybertron. It wasn't only the mech's attending that had been cheering him on, but bot's from all across the planet.

The twin knew he shouldn't have thrived off the energy of the crowd. He had done everything for the crowd, made the death of his opponent that much more painful and drawn out all because of the audience. If he had just ended it quickly for the other mech he wouldn't have experienced so much pain.

Would Sideswipe recognise Sunstreaker now? Would his own twin be able to understand and recognise the feelings coursing through Sunstreaker? The twin didn't think so, he had changed so much. He hadn't been adverse to fighting in the beginning but he certainly wasn't lusting after it. Now though...all he wanted was to go back into the ring and defeat another opponent.

He wanted to go back into that ring and hear the crowd, feel the energy that was there. He wanted all that attention on him as he exorcised his power on whatever enemy he went up against. He wanted to show just how powerful he was despite being brought up in the street. This new frame he had held so much more than his youngling frame had.

The twin contemplated it all as he sat there. Then, after a moment he remembered that his weapons hadn't been removed from him before he had gone into this room. Last time the enforcers had taken them from him in order to ensure that he didn't hurt the others in the cell or even himself. He guessed they didn't think he would hurt himself now, not after that performance and this room prevented him from hurting anyone else with the weaponry.

Unsheathing both swords Sunstreaker looked at them. Both were plain, a silver metal that glinted dangerously in the light. The knives were very similar, sheathed in their spots on his legs. These swords had delivered death to two bots now. They were the exact same ones he had used in the ring the first time, Sunstreaker knew that. He wasn't quite sure how but somehow he knew that they were the same.

Turning the swords back and forth Sunstreaker stared into the silver metal. There was no way it was the normal metals mined across Cybertron for the construction of buildings. No this was something stronger, something strong enough to cut through reinforced armour. Most likely this was something stronger than he had ever seen before. The blade was sharpened to the point where if you lightly glide it along you palm you would cut yourself.

Would sideswipe think that these swords were majestic? Beautiful pieces of weaponry, fully designed for the ring or any other battle. Sideswipe hated battle though so wouldn't he hate these weapons of destruction. Sunstreaker loved the gleam of the sword, the way it felt in his servo. Someday he wished that Sideswipe would also love these swords with him but thought it very unlikely.

Sunstreaker lay down on the berth and stared up at the roof. Another battle would come and he would enjoy it as much as the last. No longer was fighting just to keep his twin alive, it was to satiate his need to be the centre of attention, to feel the crowd's optics on him.

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Well, there's a chapter. Review please!


	20. Another Kill

Hey Everyone!

Wow, this story is certainly getting somewhere now! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, alerted and favourited this story so far. You all make me that much more inspired to keep writing. I am still going on chapter 24 as I totally forgot it was firecracker night last night (Territory Day) so not much writing was done. I plan to stay two chapters ahead of where you guys are throughout the next two weeks so that there are chapters I can upload throughout the school term when I am too busy to write. So, technically I need to write a chapter a day. Let's see how it goes.

We're at 50 reviews! Absolutely amazing. So, FractaUmbra you were our 50th reviewer :). What kind of energon would you like? There certainly is a large range today. Choices: Twins high grade brew, black energon, dark energon, Jazz's high grade brew, mid grade energon. Take your pick! :)

Mav

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Chapter 20

Sideswipe sat there in the cell, looking around at the other bots. He had felt a flood of odd emotions over the bond a couple of joors ago and now wondered what they had been about. Why had Sunstreaker experienced all of these odd emotions? Had he gone into battle again or was he just having a conversation with the mechs in the cell?

The second was a stupid and foolish idea, Sideswipe knew it. The twin's spark clenched at the thought that his twin had been back in that ring, spilling energon on that already stained ground. There had been no pain though so obviously Sunstreaker was fine. His twin had just killed a second mech.

Sideswipe wasn't exactly sure how he felt about that. It would be hypocritical if he blamed his twin for killing to lives when he himself had already killed a mech in cold blood. Still it seemed as though his twin enjoyed it in an odd way, if the feelings over the bond were anything to go by. Sideswipe craved to talk to Sunstreaker, just sit beside him and rabbit on like he usually did. His twin wouldn't have to answer, just sit there in close proximity to him as he talked on and on.

He hadn't really recognised Sunstreaker before though had he. Would he recognise him even less now? Would it really matter if they could talk to one another though, to talk their way through what had happened to them over the last little while? Sideswipe thought it would get rid of the cobwebs in their processors, get them to open up. Surely they could go back to how they had been before, stable in their relationship with one another,

However in his spark he knew, their relationship had changed as soon as their frames had. They were different now and surely their relationship had changed just like they had. Sideswipe mourned the loss of their old relationship especially now that he had no idea what their relationship was like now. If he had even been able to talk to his twin he would feel reassured and better prepared to handle what was thrown at him in the future.

Sideswipe was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even hear the enforcers coming down the hallway towards his cell. He didn't hear the door being open and was shocked to feel a servo yanking him to his feet. Optics bright his helm whirled around and was met by the sight of three enforcers. He was going back to the rings, now.

Shivers started wracking his frame. He didn't want to have to go into the ring again, he didn't want to have to kill another mech, take another innocent life. Sunstreaker could do it, and had done it twice now but the twin had no clue if he would be able to repeat his previous performance. This was much more up Sunstreaker's alley than his own.

The twin was shoved forward but that didn't stop the shivers that plagued his frame. Would he be going into the ring without any weapons again? Or instead would he be given a sword or a blaster in order to defend himself? Would he even be able to use the weapon if it was handed to him? Was he actually capable to using such a destructive thing?

Sideswipe knew he was about to find out. The twin filled his helm with thoughts of his sibling, of Sunstreaker. He wouldn't give up, there wasn't an option. There was always Sunstreaker to think of, his twin. If he didn't go into battle now then his twin would offline, if he ended up offline so would his twin. Sideswipe couldn't do that to Sunstreaker, there was just no way he could do that to him.

Sideswipe walked forward and could feel optics on his frame as he walked down the hallway between the cells. Were these other mech's pitying him or envying him? Why they would envy him he couldn't tell but he was sure there were some who were envying him. Maybe they thought that going into the battle was a good thing especially if you got offlined. You would be free of everything here, able to get rid of everything that plagued you each orn.

Suddenly there was light, the bright all-encompassing light which met each bot as they reached the top of the stairs. The twin could never get used to how suddenly the difference came. He was led to the side of the room, away from the hidden doorway in the wall.

Here was a bay, awfully similar to the one where he had been swapped frames. Instead of different materials to swap a bot into a new frame there were weapons. Swords, blasters, knives, everything that could be used to offline an opponent. Sideswipe didn't want one of these weapons; he wanted nothing to do with any of it.

He was pushed onto the bench and the mech in front of him sized him up. The mech muttered something and went off to find something to give to Sideswipe. The twin just sat there, hating the fact he would be given weapons to use against his opponent. What if his opponent didn't have any weapons? Would he still be expected to use them?

The mech came back, holding a pair of swords. They were very similar to those that Sunstreaker had been using earlier, unbeknownst to Sideswipe. The glinted slightly as they were handed over to the twin. Sideswipe just looked blankly at them, wondering about where he should be storing the blades. If he put them in his chest subspace then it would be difficult to get them out. But where else was he supposed to put them?

Sideswipe sat there looking at the two swords. He took too long thinking for the two enforcers so one of them barked an order. The mech who had handed him the blades now took them from him and yanked his arms forward. Two subspaces, one in either arm were revealed as the bot inserted the blades into them. Now the two swords were hidden and ready for battle. No other weaponry was handed over to the twin, he was ready to go.

The twin pushed off of the berth and walked off, following the enforcers. His arms felt heavier but sideswipe knew that wasn't the case. The subspace meant that the weight of the object was no longer present on his frame. It must have been the twin's mind that was making him think his arms were heavier. The simple idea of the weapon caused the twin to shudder, violently.

The enforcers stood on either side of the twin as the metal door opened. He took a look around the room, wondering where the dull roar he could hear was coming from. There was no one there, so where was the noise coming from? He looked up, those were the stands, this round was being watched!

That roar was the roar of the crowd. There must have been thousands of bots out there watching this round of the fights. Surely not so many bots were actually paying to come and watch absolute carnage? That was just horrible, wasn't there enough violence in life without purposely coming to watch bots fight it out to the death.

The doors opened and Sideswipe was shoved into the hallway. The other side of the tunnel wasn't open yet. He stood there, waiting for the doors to open. Sideswipe knew he had to go out there and try to actually fight, Last time he had almost been the cause of his twin's death and he couldn't risk that again.

Sideswipe cycled his breaths deeply and prepared himself. Go out there, find the opponent and take him down, it was as simple as that. The crowd had to be ignored otherwise they would certainly distract him. They were distracting enough as it was and he was still within the confines of the tunnel. It would be much louder out there when there was nothing between him and the audience.

The door opened and the twin ran out. He ran to the right, making sure not to stand right in front of the hallway he had just exited. There was his opponent, coming out of the other entrance. They were about the same height and build so this was going to be a difficult match but easier than the last Sideswipe had fought through.

The mech whipped a blaster out of his subspace and pointed it straight at the twin. Sideswipe ducked and ran behind a pile of frames. There were helms, arms and legs thrown in a rough pile, the only cover with in the ring, He would have to continue running around, avoiding the mech and his blaster. At some point he would have to get in close and deliver a killing blow. There was no point in beating around the bush, he had to get right in there and take down the mech. He wouldn't last long otherwise.

Blasters far outmatched any number of swords. Swords were for close combat while blasters were for distance. Why were there blasters in the ring when surely the crowd wanted close contact fights? Sideswipe didn't stop to ponder the thought as his opponent was moving in on the position,

The twin broke cover running for the left side of the ring. He jumped over a large puddle of energon and hit the ground running. Little did he know that the puddle of energon was left over from Sunstreaker's fight in the ring and the greying frame just a foot away from the energon was one that Sunstreaker had taken down.

Sideswipe kept running, his opponent following behind. It was a lucky break when the twin heard the other mech fall to the ground heavily. Sideswipe doubled back quickly before the other mech had a chance to regain his footing. There was no way he was about to let this chance escape him.

Unsubspacing the two swords he got them out in front of him. Sideswipe had no clue how to appropriately utilise these blades but that didn't particularly matter. All he needed to do was deliver a killing blow and he would be out of here and hopefully back in the darkness of the cells.

The mech was on the ground, lying face down. Already he was getting ready to push back onto his pedes and Sideswipe knew he had to stop this mech from even attempting that whatsoever. The twin moved in close and prepped his swords, ready to stab them through this mech's back.

Right sword out he plunged it down. The crowd was going wild all around him, going wild for the energon that was about to be spilt. Energon was gushing out around the sword as sideswipe stood there, getting ready to plunge in the second sword. In went the second sword, right next to the first. The mech beneath sideswipe shivered and groaned. A scream escaped his mouth and sideswipe himself shuddered.

The frame beneath Sideswipe was thrashing backwards and forwards, the mech not yet dead. Sideswipe braced a foot against the frame in front of him and pulled out both of the swords. Energon gushed from the wounds, pouring onto the ground. Still the mech wasn't dead but Sideswipe was about to make sure of it. He grabbed the helm of the mech and ran the sword along the back of his neck. Each and every one of the main energon lines in his body was now severed, it was a matter of second before he offlined.

Sideswipe moved back, staring at the mech he had just offlined. The yells and screams of the crowd made no impact on him. He had just taken an innocent life in order to preserve his own and his brother's. Had it been worth it, truly had it been worth it? Weren't he and Sunstreaker monster's now for killing so many different mechs?

The thoughts would have to wait for later, the crowd was yelling and the enforcers were coming to get him. The twin left the other mech on the ground there and walked to meet the enforcers. He wanted to get out of the rings now and get back into the dark, to be left with his own thoughts for the rest of the orn. Hopefully it would be a while before next time he would be dragged in for a fight.

Sideswipe never noticed the camera's and never knew just how many bots had been watching the match. From the homes of many a bot, mechs and femmes watched the dejected frame of the victor walk out of the ring and many of them had their processors whirling. Until now all of the bots had been ecstatic to win, to hear the crowds and know they were being encouraged and liked. This one was different, was he showing off what the actual feelings of the mechs were?

They all watched the video screens as he left. The crowd continued to go wild. The camera got a close up on the frame of the offlined mech, showing off all of the gruesome features of the poor bot who had just lost his life. For many the sight was too much and video screens were turned off. Younglings felt the atmosphere in the households and many of them began to cry. Across Cybertron many a bot was realising that the golden ages were coming to an end with the beginning of the rings.

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Well, there is chapter 20! Review please!


	21. Training

Hey Everyone!

Here is chapter 21, courtesy of our two lovely anonymous reviewers. The reviews went dead silent after I announced that we had hit 50 reviews. I still need the two reviews before updating guys, anonymous reviews count just as much as signed in ones so go type in a comment in that bottom box and send it in! :) I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter and enjoy this one as well. I'm finishing off chapter 25 now and hopefully i'll finish chapter 26 tomorrow.

Mav

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Chapter 21

Sideswipe was led down a series of hallways but he wasn't paying attention. He used half of his processor to wash himself and the other half to focus on his whirlwind of thoughts. None were worth focusing on yet though, he would work on them later when he was alone. The water felt nice, cleansing on his frame. The issue was that as much as he scrubbed and washed himself clean he would never be free of the energon he had spilt within the ring. Each death dirtied him more than the filth and grime of the streets ever had.

The twin followed the enforcers onwards, off in his own little world. There was nothing on his frame to fix up so no visit to the medics. Instead his paint was touched up and polish put on his frame. He shone brightly, as brightly as he always though his twin had shone. Then there was another hallway, some other winding passageway leading him further from the ring and possibly from where Sunstreaker was currently.

The twin was stopped in front of a door. He was thankful that the journey had come to an end. He just wanted to be left alone, all the thoughts that were plaguing him needed to be gotten rid of and that was what the twin intended to do. The enforcers opened the door for him and in he went. The door was shut behind him and finally he was alone.

The room was tiny, barely big enough to turn around in. His large frame certainly didn't help the room feel any bigger. The twin sat down on the berth, helm hanging low. He hated the rings, hated them so much. There was no real reason for him to be killing these other mechs, absolutely no reason at all.

Sideswipe laid down and stared up at the ceiling. It had certainly been a long time since he had last been able to just lie down on his back and relax. A lot of time had to have passed since they had been taken off the streets. In some ways life had changed drastically and in other ways things were still the same.

There was less that was still the same but there were things none the less. Life was still hard and there was barely any energon ready for consumption. Life was being controlled by others, hidden away from the view of the starving public. These few things hadn't changed and the fact that they hadn't changed wasn't comforting at all.

A lot of things had changed though and Sideswipe hated to think about what he had done. These rings, they were changing everything for him. Two lives, he had taken away. The thought weighed heavily on him throughout the orn. One life had been enough for him to deal with but now with two it was even harder. What made it worse though was not being with Sunstreaker, not having his twin there for him.

They both looked totally different now, so changed from how they had been as younglings. Sideswipe still regretted the fact that he had recoiled slightly when Sunstreaker had come over to him just after they had been swapped frames. He wanted to be able to see his twin now, sit there and let his twin hold him. They had always been quite tactile with each other and Sideswipe was sorely missing it now.

He wanted to be able to sit there, next to his twin and rabbit on about anything that came to mind. He wanted to be able to put everything that had happened in a sealed box and be the bot he had been on the streets. Sideswipe didn't want to the mech he was now, a mech with the energon of others staining his servos.

There was so much that Sideswipe regretted now, so much he wished he could change. There was no way to change these things though and so he would just have to deal with it. Recharge started to claim the twin and his last thought was of Sunstreaker.

Sideswipe was awoken sometime later through being yanked off of the berth. His faceplates met with the cold hardness of the ground with a terrific clang. Hauled to his pedes the twin was dragged from the room and back down the corridors from earlier.

There was no way that much time had passed since he had fallen asleep or so the twin thought. He couldn't have been asleep for more than two joors before he had been rudely awaken. The passageways were dimly lit as he was hauled onwards, not allowed to just walk under his own power.

Sideswipe was taken down into the same area where he had been repaired from the fight and on towards the wash rack area. However they didn't stop in this front part of the complex, instead going further back. Here there was a passageway much like all of the others he had seen lately.

The twin wasn't particularly happy at being out and about at the moment, he would much rather be getting some sleep or better yet, curling up with his twin. Instead he was here, being led into a large room off of the deserted passageway.

Sideswipe was shoved inside a doorway, the enforcers which had escorted him there not coming inside with him. The room was huge, not quite as big as the ring but very close in size. It was obviously built for training, especially with weapons. The walls were padded as was the floor. Along one wall was a whole arsenal of different weaponry.

Blades glinted in the light while blasters showed off their massive firepower. Sideswipe knew he was either in for a beating or a very good training session. Alternatively it could be a little bit of both. There was nothing all that important to hold Sideswipe's optics as he kept looking around the room, trying to figure out just why he was in here.

Instead of locking onto something that would explain why he was here the twin was knocked to the ground. A servo connected with his back plates and Sideswipe was crashing to the ground. There was a movement behind him, showing that there was another bot in the room. Until now he hadn't noticed the presence of another, showing just how unused to being around other bots he actually was.

"You're going to have to do better than that if you want to laugh," a voice mocked as he struggled to get back onto his pedes.

Sideswipe never made it back to his pedes, instead catching a glimpse of a pede as it connected harshly with his stomach plating. Back onto the ground the twin went, vents heaving from the painful blow. This bot either wanted to torment him or was just totally insane.

"You need to know where your opponent is at all times. You lose concentration you're going to end up beaten. You get beaten, you end up offline."

The twin knew all this, he didn't need it repeated and he certainly didn't need to be bashed up. This mech was annoying the hell out of him already and he wasn't even done yet. Sideswipe pushed himself onto his pedes, actually gaining his footing this time.

In front of him was a tall mech, just standing a little taller than he did. The mech was black in colour, an orange chevron sitting upon his head. The mech's optics were red, gleaming out at him in a way that could only be described as evil. However the mech didn't look overly insane, instead he had quite a grim look on his face.

"You have determination to get back on your pedes, that's certainly good to have."

Sideswipe stayed quiet as he looked at this bot. What the hell was he trying to get at? Was the mech here to help him or offline him? The twin certainly couldn't tell either way, the mech was sending mixed signals.

"Well I'm Sparksmasher here to teach you just how you are meant to fight in those rings. You listen to me and you'll get through this fine, ignore me and you'll find yourself offline in a jiffy. Got it?" The mech asked.

Sideswipe looked at him. So this was meant to be a training session? Weird kind of training session if you asked him. Although it wasn't quite like he had any previous experience to go off now did he?

"Yeah, I guess," sideswipe replied.

"That ain't good enough mech. You're either with me or you're not. If you're not we may as well end this now and chuck you back in your room and I'll find someone else to waste my time with."

The twin stood there contemplating his options. If this mech could teach him just what he needed to do in the rings then he would be greatly advantaged going into future fights. If he ignored this mech and decided to go back to his room he would ruin his chances in the future battles he was going to fight.

"Okay I'm in."

"Good to know you are in mech. So a little bit about you and I before we start. I'm one of many creations all of us are fairly good fighters. I've got two sisters and any number of brothers. We're all into fighting, simply because that's what our creators wanted us to do. All of us have watched you fight in the ring and we're all training up at least one of you gladiators ready for the battles. It's a bit of a competition going on between our family and another so we need to know that you guys are in with us for this. You?"

Everything the mech said sounded so foreign to sideswipe. He didn't have a heap of brothers and sisters, he didn't have creators trying to tell him what not to do and what to do and he certainly didn't enjoy fighting. The weird thing was this mech didn't sound overly enthusiastic when talking about the fighting. Maybe he didn't enjoy fighting just like Sideswipe? The twin pushed the thought from his mind. This mech certainly had to at least tolerate the fight if he had bothered to sit there and watch a number of matches and want to train him up.

"Not much to say about me. I have a brother and have lived on the streets most of my life," Sideswipe said, his voice fairly low.

This was the first time he had actually talked to anyone since the day when he had seen Sunstreaker. Even then it hadn't been a real conversation. Of course this couldn't quite be called a conversation but at least it was something.

"Alright, let's get this started then!" Sparksmasher said with enthusiasm. "I saw you with the swords the other orn so let's start with them. You didn't look like you knew how to handle them so let's get you proficient."

In doing so the mech walked over to the large armoury on the wall. Two swords were picked up and thrown towards Sideswipe. Quickly moving forward the twin caught both swords clumsily, almost missing one of them. Sparksmasher picked up a pair for himself and moved back into the centre of the floor.

"You need to bring the swords up, hold them out in front of your chassis like this," Smasher said as he demonstrated. "This means you'll be able to look out for yourself and block any attack that comes your way."

Sideswipe tried out the position and found that it felt a lot less awkward than it had looked. The twin felt a lot more secure in this position than he had in the ring. This was certainly a better way to hold the two swords,

The lesson continued on in the same way it had started, Sparksmasher showing off different manoeuvres the twin could use while Sideswipe copied them in order to learn how to do the different things. As the joors passed by the twin became much better versed in how to use the heavy weapons.

The lesson came to a close and Sideswipe had no idea how much time had passed since he had come into the training room. It seemed as though he hadn't been there all that long. Sideswipe was looking forward to the next training session. He felt like he was much more capable at handling the next battle in the ring, even if it came just the next orn.

"So, tomorrow we'll go through how to use the different blasters. You seem to have gotten the hang of the swords so if we get you through the basics on the other weaponry we'll be able to refine your skills on the different blades," Sparksmasher commented as the two hung up the swords from the practice session.

Sideswipe didn't say anything as he waited for the mech to dismiss him. His room would be waiting for him, empty but at least he would be able to lie down and rest. The mech in front of him was taking his time, delicately hanging the blades up.

"So who is your brother? Is here in this complex?"

Sideswipe chose to ignore the first question and just answer the second. There was no way he was jeopardising the safety of his twin, not after how long it had been.

"Yeah, he's here in this complex"

The mech gave him a look but didn't comment of the fact that only half of the question had been answered. Spark Smasher knew that this bot in front of him was hiding things but he already suspected just who this mech's brother was. SparkSoul would be happy to know just what her bot's weakness was if his hunch was correct.

"Okay, we're done for today. The enforcers are waiting just outside in order to take you back to your room. I'll see you tomorrow."

Sideswipe mumbled a goodbye before walking over to the door. Outside were two enforcers waiting to lead him back to his room, just as SparkSmasher had said. This mech would at least be helpful for Sideswipe, especially in the long run. Next time he went in the ring, he would be ready.

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Review please?


	22. Training Sunstreaker

Hey Everyone!

Wow, now that was a much more eager response with the reviews. I've found that the email system about reviews is quite delayed at the moment which is unfortunate. If I haven't replied to your review then let me know and I'll make sure that I do. I always try and reply to everyone. If all you anonymous reviewers want to chuck down a screenname for yourselves at the bottom of your review I'll be able to at least address you individually and reply to your reviews at the end of a chapter. Now, I haven't actually written anything since posting last so I should probably get onto that. Goal for tonight-finishing chapter 26 so I can post a chapter for you guys tomorrow if I get the reviews. Now that I've had a much too long rant, here is chapter 22.

Mav

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Sunstreaker was sitting on his berth, staring at the wall in front of him. The two swords he now had were tucked safely inside the subspaces in his arms. He didn't want to look at the blades right now, didn't particularly want to do anything. There wasn't anything to do anyway now was there? The room was empty, his tanks were empty and there was just nothing to do.

The twin found himself wanting to be taken out of this room, taken back to the rings to fight. From here in this room he could hear nothing, no noise whatsoever coming from the ring. Undoubtedly there were still fights going on, bots getting killed. There would be energon being bought and mechs enjoying the show. This was what the rings were all about,

The door triggered open and Sunstreaker stood up, jumping off of his berth. Maybe he would be lead to the rings now, able to take on an opponent and get rid of the boredom that was plaguing him. He would be able to forget about the pain in the spark and just fight it out. Everything that he had been thinking about would just fade away until the only thing he could think about was the rush of the fight.

The two enforcers stepped in, one grabbing his arms while the other looks around the room. Sunstreaker was led out and down the hallway. He vaguely saw the medical bay and wash racks as he was led past them. Then there was another long hallway. It stretched on until there was a curve at the end of it. The twin would never know just how long the passageway was.

Sunstreaker was pushed inside a doorway and the metal doors shut behind him. The enforcers didn't come in with Sunstreaker, instead disappearing down the passageway, back to collect a different mech to herd around the place. There was nothing in this room with the twin but it certainly was built for a fight or rather training.

One wall of the room was full of different armoury, just waiting to be tested out in the field. Sunstreaker longed to go over there and pick up one of the different swords and try it out. The twin noticed a subtle movement behind him and whirled around, bringing a servo up to block the blow he knew was coming.

The blow was blocked but it sent the twin staggering backwards. Taking a defensive stance he got ready for another attack while sizing up his opponent. It was hard to tell whether this was a femme or mech but that didn't particularly matter. The bot was tall, just slightly taller than him with large doorwings upon their back.

The doorwings were obviously the weakness on this bot and that was where Sunstreaker needed to be aiming for in his attacks. There was a red chevron upon the bot's helm, something else that could be a liability in the upcoming attack.

Sunstreaker was ready for the bot when they moved but wasn't quite prepared for the attack that was launched. The bot struck out with their pede, sweeping his legs out from underneath him before flipping the twin onto his stomach and pinning him down.

"Well hey there champ," the bot said, giving away the fact that it was a femme that Sunstreaker had been fighting.

The twin lay there on his stomach, wondering just why this femme was here. Was she here to train him or to offline him? From this little scuffle it was obvious that if she wanted to she could easily offline him without any hassles whatsoever.

The femme let him up from the ground, moving her weight off of him. A servo was stuck in front of his face but Sunstreaker didn't accept it, choosing to get to his pedes by himself. There was no way he was about to fall for a trap that was so obvious.

"Well, I'm here to train you up so that you're even better in those rings. Got any questions before we get started?" the femme said, bouncing slightly on her pedes. It seemed that she was full of energy and raring to go.

"Yeah, who the frag are you and why are you bothering to train me up?" Sunstreaker snarled, not trusting this femme one bit.

The femme in front of him shook her head before answering his questions. "I'm SparkSoul, one of many siblings and here to train you for one very specific reason, to beat the Kaon ancients at their own game. They are always trying to one up our family and we're going to get straight back at them."

Sunstreaker thought over what SparkSoul said. It sounded true enough but something in his mind was sparked by what she had said. Where had he heard something about ancients before? Thinking back he remembered when he had forayed into the underground tunnels, right beneath the city. Could those bots he had seen in that large atrium have been the Kaon ancients? Was it possible that this femme was one of the Praxus ancients?

The twin regarded SparkSoul with a guarded look. If she was an ancient and she was one of the Praxus ancients it made no sense that she would be training up a Kaon bot in order to try and defeat the Kaon ancients. What was the city ancient's game anyway?

SparkSoul watched as the bot in front of her tried to work out just what was going on. SparkSmasher had given her a heads up before the training session, letting her know that this bot could quite possibly have a sibling here in the complex. If she could find out that he did, they could make one of the best combinations for the rings yet.

It was no secret between those training mechs for battle that there were double battles coming up. It was thought that if there were battles with four mechs in the ring even more credits would be pulled in as more bots came to watch. Already this bot in front of her and the one her brother was training were some of the most popular gladiators there. Only one other was anywhere close to the two siblings, the big brute of a mech Megatron.

The Kaon ancients were the ones training that mech and SparkSoul certainly wished them luck. The mech had no real penchant for the fight, despite being brilliant at it. He didn't want to follow orders; he didn't want to be confined within the rings. At least these two bots would listen and listen well. They were used to doing whatever they needed to in order to survive.

"Okay, so when are we starting?" Sunstreaker asked, ready to get going.

"Right now," SparkSoul said as she walked over to the weapons wall.

Sunstreaker watched as the femme took two sets of swords off of the racks and tossed one set to him. Was she going to attack him? Lunge at him and try to slice him through the stomach plating? Sunstreaker darted forwards to catch the swords and then waltzed backwards; bringing the blades up in front of him, ready to protect his relatively unprotected stomach plating.

"Relax, I'm not about to attack you. I'm going to go through some different defensive manoeuvres with you and some different stances that can be helpful while in the ring. Tomorrow we'll go through how to use the blasters and other weaponry. You're going to get as well trained as you possibly can before you end up back in those rings." In saying this, the two settled in to the lesson.

Sunstreaker copied all of the different movements that SparkSoul showed him, getting into the groove. It wasn't particularly hard to pick up the movements or the stances, you just had to get the form right. Many a time the femme would yell at him for doing something wrong and the twin would fix it up fairly quickly,

SparkSoul knew that this bot was learning quickly. There weren't all that many different things that she had to teach the mech with this set of swords. All she wanted to do was get through the preliminary stuff and move him on to a different set of much more advanced swords. If SparkSmasher and her were right both him and his brother would be perfectly suited to the swords usually only used by their family and select others.

Sunstreaker was exhausted by the end of the training session. A severe lack of energon was weighing heavily on his systems and after two bouts in the gladiator rings along with this session he was running dry. It wasn't like there was any way for him to go scavenging for energon or any other way for him to get sustenance. Instead he would just have to wait for the enforcers to give him something to drink.

The twin hoped he would get some energon before the next fight otherwise he wouldn't be doing all that well in the ring. It really didn't matter how well trained you were if there wasn't any energy left in order to perform the manoeuvres that you had been taught.

SparkSoul took the two swords from him as Sunstreaker sat down on the ground. His frame wasn't doing too well without the energon that he quite desperately needed. The twin was stunned though when a cube of energon was pushed in to his line of sight. The energon wasn't the pale pink liquid that was the norm, instead it was the grey liquid he had seen in that atrium all those orns ago.

This just cemented the idea in his head; this femme was a Praxian ancient. This type of energon was certainly different from normal and probably more sustaining then the other stuff he had been drinking. Accepting the cube Sunstreaker quickly drank it all down.

"What type of energon is this anyway?" Sunstreaker asked, not quite sure how to pose the question in order for it to be polite.

SparkSoul laughed softly before replying. "That's dark energon, pretty good isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Sunstreaker looked over at the femme. She seemed fairly relaxed here, despite the fights that were going on outside this area and the fact that he himself was a gladiator. It was proven that she could handle herself but why would a femme feel so at ease in a hostile environment?

These were questions the twin would have to ask himself back in his quarters as the doors behind him slid open to admit two enforcers. They were here to take him back to his quarters, the small cramped area where he would do nothing but recharge and stare at the walls. Sunstreaker glanced one last time at the training room before being dragged out and back down the different corridors towards his quarters.

Sparksoul stood in the training room, knowing her brother was about to enter through the doors in front of her. The training session had gone fairly well. There wasn't much more that could have gone better but there was work to do if they were going to get Sunstreaker to the point where he would win these competitions.

SparkSmasher entered the room and walked over to SparkSoul. The two of them settled down onto the ground and sat in companionable silence. Their sibling bond was relatively strong, stronger than most of the bonds between the multitude of different siblings that they had. Out of all of their direct siblings SparkSmasher and SparkSoul were the closest, always leaning on each other for support, especially after any large battles or training sessions with their creators.

"So, what do you reckon about Sunstreaker? Do you think he is Sideswipe's sibling?" SparkSmasher asked as he leant back on his arms.

He was renowned for how well he could fight in and around a ring with his plain servo's while his sister had a much more unique gift. Both of them had been trained in the dark arts, a compulsory activity by their creator. SparkSoul though had a bit more of an edge over him in the practice and so he wanted a second opinion on his already formed idea.

"Oh they are siblings alright but I reckon they are closer than that. There's a possibility they are twins," SparkSoul commented as she watched her brother closely.

SparkSmasher had a twin at one point in time but due to their creator his twin hadn't made it. Their family was tough and if you weren't tough enough to make it through then you ended up offline. It had cut Smasher pretty deeply and he still had issues when twins were mentioned. If Smasher could help it he would certainly keep these twins together for as long as he possibly could.

"Really? You're not just trying to joke around with me now are you Soul?" Smasher questioned, already knowing the answer to that.

"You know I wouldn't joke around about something like that Smasher. Why else would they be such good candidates for the tandem swords? Twin sparks are always more unstable and I think their bond is quite weak, adding to the vulnerability of their sparks."

"Well, we're going to have to get them training together. If twins won't make the best fighting force out there, what set of partners could?"

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Okay, got some Oc's here. Going to try my best to keep them non-marysue/garystu. Let me know if they veer down that path. For August (Camp NanoWriMo) I'm going to write a backstory for SparkSoul so look out for that next month. Review please?


	23. A Normal Training Session?

Hey Everyone!

Here is chapter 23. Thanks again for all the reviews. We are still considerably behind Life of a Datsun though in reviews. :) Lets see if we can beat LOAD. DeathtoMushrooms, you had the 60th review. What kind of high grade would you like? The usual options are available and I can order in lots of others. I'm up to writing chapter 27 now. We're almost equal chapter wise with Life of a Datsun! Enjoy the chapter and don't forget to review, anonymous or signed i don't mind.

Mav

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Chapter 23

The next orn Sunstreaker was sitting upon his berth when the doors to his room slid open, just like they had the orn before. An enforcer entered and the twin was led back to the training room. Inside stood SparkSoul, in the centre of the room. She looked ready to get started on another training session and a long one at that.

On the ground in front of her were a range of different weapons for them to use. Mostly there were blasters but among the weaponry were two different types of bludgeons and some smaller blades that Sunstreaker hadn't been able to use before. This was certainly going to be an interesting session.

They started off by working with the blasters. First Sunstreaker was taught how to aim and handle them. Afterwards they moved on to being able to shoot the different sized blasters. Sunstreaker enjoyed being taught how to use the different weaponry, becoming more proficient I the different skills he would need in the rings.

The lesson continued on, new skills being brought in at all different times. SparkSoul made sure he was always moving, never letting him actually rest. It seemed as though she was waiting for something though and Sunstreaker found just what it was as the door slid open.

Sideswipe had been pulled from his room in what he could only assume early in the day cycle. The enforcers had accompanied him through the winding hallways to the training room where he had been the orn before.

In the centre of the room stood SparkSmasher, looking ready to get down to business. Sideswipe wasn't looking forward to the lesson all that much but knew it was necessary. He didn't want to have the skills to kill; he just wanted to be able to ignore it all.

Instead of turning and running like he wanted to the twin stood his ground, letting the enforcers close the door behind him. Walking forward he was prepared for any attack his trainer could throw at him, knowing that it was likely SparkSmasher would try and trick him early in the session. Later on they would settle down and work through different things, if yesterday was anything to go by.

"Did you get a good rest last night Sideswipe?" SparkSmasher questioned, carefully assessing the mech in front of him.

"Yeah, it was alright I guess," Sideswipe replied, taken aback by the question.

SparkSmasher carefully scrutinised the mech in front of him. It seemed as though the bot hadn't had any proper recharge since he had entered the ring. Sideswipe had armour that was just slightly lighter than his brother's, giving him a more agile look. If SparkSoul and him were going to prepare the brothers for battle together it would be good to know their different strengths.

Sideswipe stood there shifting nervously as he waited for SparkSmasher to do something, let anything slip about what they would be doing in the session. Instead of saying anything the mech just stared at him for a couple of seconds before turning away and surveying the weapons on the wall.

Four or five different blasters were ripped from their perches and thrown casually on the floor. Sideswipe idly wondered if they would go off as he watched his trainer pick and choose the different weapons. It looked like they would be going through blasters and how to use them.

"Right, here are the five main styles of blasters on the market. These smaller weapons are for close contact while the three larger ones are used at a larger distance. In the ring they could give you any type of blaster but it's most likely to be one of the smaller ones. It's possible that they will give you a larger blaster but only if they are going to put you up against a multitude of opponents. The greatest interest for those who run the ring is to have the best show for the audience. Close contact weapons make the crowd go wild, blasters are just a bit too tame."

Sideswipe nodded as SparkSmasher spouted off a long list of information. Some of it was useful but mainly he tuned the talking out. If he knew how to shoot them he would be fine, he really did not need the background to them at all.

"We'll start off with the smaller blasters and move on to the larger ones. Generally you hold these ones with both hands, despite their smaller size. There is still a good amount of kick when you are firing so watch out."

SparkSmasher then began to go through the parts of the blaster, assembling and disassembling them in order to show Sideswipe just how they worked. After that they moved on to shooting, Sideswipe finding that he was a surprisingly good shot. From the back of the room SparkSmasher retrieved the air kick blasters and started up the electronic screen for them to practice with.

The smaller blasters were shot from standing positions as well as kneeling ones while the larger blasters were shot from prone, squat and standing positions. Although Sideswipe had been taken through how to use the different blasters he didn't think he would be totally confident in going into the ring and using them to kill. His aim wasn't all that brilliant yet and he would probably spend more time trying to aim the fragged thing than actually shooting it.

Around what Sideswipe deemed the middle of their session the two took a break from the firing range. Seated upon the floor the two sat and looked around the room. Sideswipe was thinking about the rings, how to use the different weapons and whether or not he would actually be able to use them.

SparkSmasher was thinking about different things entirely. It was about time to go in and reunite Sideswipe with his brother, if he and his sister had guessed correctly. There was no way of knowing just how they would react to each other. did they even know what they looked like now? Did they know just how much both of them had changed since they had come into the rings?

There was no real way of knowing until they actually reunited the twins. It one way it could turn out to be a great idea but it could also turn out for the worse. If the two hated each other's guts or didn't trust one another this wouldn't work at all. If they were to fight side by side in the ring they needed to trust each other implicitly, no barriers between them.

Looking over at Sideswipe he opened up a comm. link with SparkSoul to let her know that they were going to head over soon. With that done SparkSmasher decided to tell Sideswipe about what was going to happen. He didn't know whether Soul was going to let Sunstreaker know what was going on but that wasn't of his concern, Sideswipe was.

"Hey Sideswipe," SparkSmasher said in order to get the mech's attention. "We're going to head over to one of the other training rooms to meet up with some of the other gladiator mechs. You ready?"

Sideswipe looked over at his trainer. Did he really just say that they were going to go and meet the other gladiators? Surely that wasn't the best of ideas. If they all decided to go spaz at one another more than one bot was likely to end up offline. This just didn't sound like a promising venture. However, there really was no choice in the matter so the twin just hauled himself to his feet and prepared to go meet these other mechs.

SparkSmasher just smiled, knowing where the gladiator's mind was going to. When you were in the rings and fighting there wasn't anywhere else your mind really could go. If only the mech realised just who it was they were off to meet, his expression surely wouldn't have been so sour.

The trainer led the way down the hallway, making sure that Sideswipe kept up with him. A few doors down from their training room SparkSmasher stopped and opened the door. Gesturing with his servo, the ancient allowed Sideswipe to enter the room first.

The mech didn't get very far into the room before he stopped, standing absolutely still. Sideswipe's optics were fixated on the mech right in front of him, standing in the middle of the room, blaster hanging loosely in his servo.

Sideswipe knew that was his twin, knew it was Sunstreaker but for some reason he couldn't make himself move across the room to greet him. For orns he had just wanted to be able to see Sunstreaker, talk to him, and know that he was fine. However, he now stood directly opposite his twin and couldn't move, couldn't make a sound.

Faintly he felt SparkSmasher move across the room, over towards another trainer that was presumably Sunstreaker's. His full attention was still focused on his twin, Sunstreaker. His optics never faltered, holding their connection with Sunstreaker's optics. For a few astroseconds it felt as if their bond was stronger, just enough that they could really sense each other.

The feeling faded quickly though, making the bond feel even fainter than before. Pain rippled through Sideswipe's spark, seemingly trying to drag him towards Sunstreaker. His pedes didn't move but Sunstreaker quivered slightly, almost as though he were going to walk across the room to Sideswipe.

Sunstreaker's couldn't believe his optics when Sideswipe entered the room, stepping through that open doorway. Here was his twin, the closest they had been since the day when their frames had changed. The look in Sideswipe's optics was almost unreadable as they stood across from one another but vorns of knowing his twin helped Sunstreaker decipher just what there was. A hint of revulsion, but more than that was a longing, a longing that Sunstreaker could feel echoed in his spark.

All he wanted was to walk over to Sideswipe, curl up on the ground with him as they had so soon after their creator's death. He even made to walk over to his twin but the slight look of revulsion held him off. Was he really so different now that Sideswipe couldn't even bear to be near him?

Sunstreaker just stood there instead, waiting for Sideswipe to make the first move. His spark was in so much pain but that didn't matter, he wasn't going to break his twin's trust in him, what little of it there was left now.

Sideswipe hesitated, just slightly as he made up his mind to walk over to his twin, to communicate with the brother he hadn't really talked to since they had been on the streets. There was nothing stopping him, no barrier, no cages and no hint of animosity from Sunstreaker but still he hesitated. Giving himself a mental kick up the aft Sideswipe started walking.

At first his steps were slow, measured but after only two he was full on running. Sunstreaker's arms opened wide and Sideswipe launched himself into his twin. There he clung to Sunstreaker, not ever wanting to let him go. In the background he could hear sobbing and Sideswipe didn't know whether it was him or his twin and didn't particularly care at that point in time.

Sideswipe clung tightly; his servo's digging into Sunstreaker's plating. The stoic twin didn't mind, it wasn't all that painful. The relief from his spark was tangible, the proximity doing them both some good. Sunstreaker dipped his helm, burying it in Sideswipe's neck as they clung to one another. Sideswipe was crying and Sunstreaker just held his twin as they stood there.

Sunstreaker had no tears to shed; he had never really been one to cry. Sideswipe though, he cried non-stop. Sunstreaker was aware of his trainer standing off to the side, turned away in order to give them as much alone time as was possible. The twin hadn't expected to be able to see Sideswipe, thought that they would both offline before they had time together.

The twin was thankful to his trainer for letting them see each other. At that moment he didn't particularly mind that the secret was out, that they were now known as brothers and probably suspected as twins. There was no way he would give up this moment for anything.

Sideswipe eventually calmed down, the sobs moving to hiccups before leaving completely. The twin still stood there, clinging to Sunstreaker. He was afraid that if he let go Sunstreaker would disappear or he would be dragged away. Now that he could see his twin there was no way he wanted to give him up again.

Someone clearing their voice behind the twins alerted them to the fact that they weren't alone in the room and still had training to do. Sideswipe didn't let go of Sunstreaker, just loosened his grip slightly so they could turn and regard their trainers.

SparkSoul seemed to be smiling slightly while SparkSmasher had evidence of tears running down his face. This fact confused both of the twins but they ignored it as SparkSoul started to speak to them both.

"Well, I guess that answered the question of whether you are twins or brothers." SparkSoul stated, using it as an opening sentence.

"We've got you here together because of the new battles that will be coming up in the rings. Instead of just having one on one battles we will be progressing into doubles, two on two. We needed a team that we could get together and we think you two are the perfect bots. It's going to take some training but we can get you there," SparkSoul said, as she regarded both of the twins.

"If you trust each other enough and know how to rely on one another you are certainly going to be one up on your opponents. Most of them have only just met, meaning that they will have to work much harder and longer to have a partnership that won't even match up to yours," SparkSmasher added as he glanced over to SparkSoul.

"We're going to work on getting you guys to work together well, using both of your different skills. After that we're going to see how well you do with a couple of different types of weapons which we think may suit you. If they don't, fair enough we don't expect you to use them. If you like them though, we can certainly work them in."

Sideswipe looked over at Sunstreaker, wondering what he thought about the matter. As he turned his helm he noticed that his twin was also looking over at him. Their optics met and the two spent a moment assessing one another.

Sideswipe liked the idea, knowing that he wouldn't be out there alone, that he wouldn't be the only one killing other bots senselessly. The attention of the crowd wouldn't only be on him but his twin as well. If they went through it all together it would be so much better than it had been while he had been out there alone.

Sunstreaker mused over the idea. In a way it was great, he wanted to do it. It had been so long that the two twins had been apart it would be wonderful to be back together, relying on one another again. There was a downside though. Sunstreaker had changed since being on the streets. How would Sideswipe handle that change once they were in the ring? Would his twin be able to cope with the fact that he could and had killed mechs? That he totally abandoned everything while in that ring with the crowd cheering him on?

The twin was undecided on the matter but looking at the hope in Sideswipe's optics he knew that he just had to say yes to the whole venture. Sideswipe wanted it, it was plain to see. Sunstreaker never could deny his twin anything so he found himself saying yes.

Sideswipe's faceplates lit up with a grin as he also acquiesced to the idea. This was going to be so much better than the rings had been before. They were going to be together, working alongside one another from now on. This was exactly what he wanted.

Their reunion had taken long enough that it was time to be collected from the enforcers. SparkSoul and SparkSmasher promised that they would be training together the next day, the only thing that could convince the twins to leave the room.

With one last hug the two moved apart. Neither one wanted to leave the other, both too afraid they wouldn't see eachother again. It didn't matter what their trainers said, it was an all too possible fact of where they were. Enforcers came into the room to collect both of them.

Sunstreaker was led a different way back to his room so as to make sure the twins had the least contact possible. The enforcers were worried about what could happen if the two were kept together for any length of time, especially considering there were only four of them in total to look after two gladiators.

Sideswipe entered his room, sitting down on his berth. His spark ached with loneliness but it was slightly better than it had been before. The close contact had done him some good. The fact that hs twin had changed didn't matter now, not now that he was alive. Sideswipe knew it that moment when he had clung to Sunstreaker that it didn't matter how much his twin changed, or why, he would never abandon him, never turn his back on Sunstreaker.

Sunstreaker sat on his own berth, staring at the wall. He felt so much closer to Sideswipe now. The reason for him to fight was that much clearer, almost tangible. Sideswipe was online and he was fine. No longer would he have to worry about Sideswipe, especially considering they would be fighting together in the future.

Both twins lay back on their bed and sunk into recharge thinking about the other and revelling in the slightly less painful bond between them.

* * *

They met! :) Review please?


	24. Renewal

Hey Everyone!

How are we all doing, did we enjoy the last chapter? Here is another chapter, ready and raring to go. i'm going to drop off the map for a while guys so don't expect any updates until thursday next week. A long time, yes I know but hopefully this chapter keeps you for a while. :D Warning for explicitness and stuff. The usual, its the twins :D. If you want to know about my other works for the twins, in the same nature under a different profile let me know. I haven't written this way in a while so go easy on me guys, I wasn't entirely happy with how it turned out so encouragement would be great. Anyways, enjoy the chapter.

Mav

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Chapter 24

The next orn Sunstreaker was up and sitting on his berth well before the enforcers came to collect him. The twin was eager to get back to training, to see Sideswipe again. All through the night cycle he had thought of his twin. The differences in him and the ways he was still the same. Sunstreaker could tell Sideswipe was still reluctant to fight but there was also something in his optics which said that he knew that was what had to be done.

Sunstreaker found himself proud of his twin, of the effort he had put into the rings. Sideswipe had hated fighting, hated it badly but when it had come down to it he had stood up and faced his opponent. There was no doubt that the death of his opponents was weighing heavily on his processor but at least Sideswipe was online, still functioning.

The enforcers came to his doorway and the twin was up and waiting. Instead of being dragged towards the training room he walked with some pep in his step. If either of the enforcers noticed anything different this cycle they didn't make any comment. The two stayed as silent as always as they escorted Sunstreaker to meet his twin again.

Sideswipe was similarly walking towards the training room, anxiously awaiting the moment when he would see Sunstreaker again. His twin was there, someone who he could certainly rely upon. Sideswipe's mind wasn't on the training that would have to be done or on the upcoming fights he would have to participate in. Instead he was focusing on the fact that he would be seeing Sunstreaker, his twin, again.

The doors to the training room loomed before him and Sideswipe took a deep breath, ready to enter. The enforcers opened the door and he was through them in a flash. Sunstreaker was there, in the centre of the room just as he had been the orn before. There wasn't much different about him and Sideswipe thanked the fact.

The twin didn't notice the two trainers standing off to the side as he rushed over to Sunstreaker. The twins embraced one another as they stood in the middle of the room. Yet again Sideswipe couldn't help but revel in the fact that this was his twin and they were together again. Nothing could be better than that simple fact.

"Okay you two, we have things to do today. We've arranged for the two of you to share a room so you can save the getting to know each other stuff for later. Right now we need to get down to the nitty gritty," SparkSoul said, bringing the twins' attention back to the present.

"You'll be fighting side by side in the ring so we need to go through how to predict your partner's movement to ensure you don't end up impeding on another. Once we go through the basics you can start to spar with us, hopefully giving you both an idea of what it will be like in the ring," SparkSmasher continued, linking right off the end of SparkSoul's sentence.

The group got down to working out just how they would be in the ring. SparkSoul worked closely with Sunstreaker while SparkSmasher worked with Sideswipe. Both were fluent enough with each other in battle that it transferred well enough to their teaching skills. Learning to fight side by side as siblings their whole lives certainly paid off now.

Sunstreaker was slower to pick up the movements than sideswipe, possibly because his end of the bond was more corrupted than Sideswipe's. Sunstreaker seemed to deal better by himself but was certainly getting better working with his twin. SparkSoul secretly thought that their work together would be greatly improved if the two could strengthen their bond. Maybe at the end of the lesson she would have to suggest such a thing, if SparkSmasher didn't first.

SparkSmasher was enjoying teaching Sideswipe this, especially since it was a skill he had gone through with his own twin. The thought of his own twin brought SparkSmasher's mood down slightly but he hid it from everyone else in the room. There was no way he was about to ruin this very good training because of some old memories.

Throughout the lesson they went through many things and slowly SparkSmasher picked up on a simple fact. These two weren't just twins, they were split spark twins. It had taken him and his twin vorns to be able to even half predict what the other was going to do but here these two were, already at a stage well beyond where they should have been.

Something was bothering him though and that was simple enough to identify. The two didn't seem as close as split spark twins usually were. The bonds which were usually wide open between split spark twins seemed impeded somehow and Smasher wondered if it was because neither of them knew that the bond had to be maintained. SparkSmasher was lucky enough to find out about twin bonds from some close friends when he was in one of the academies but it was likely these two had no one else to talk to about their bond. After the training session he would have to mention the bond between them and how to maintain it. There was no use in the twins getting to the point where they couldn't function, simply because the bond had failed.

The bond was important, probably one of the most important features of any set of twins. Without the bond neither of them would have been able to function. Despite a spark splitting when it was inside a carrier there was still a bond between the two halves as they developed. The bond allowed them to share energy as well as emotions and feelings. Essentially the traits which one bot would have had was split between two and the bond allowed them to even themselves out so to speak.

It was easy enough to tell which of these twins was the more withdrawn one and which one was more outgoing. Sideswipe was the outgoing one and infinitely more social making each and every battle a bigger toll on the mech. Sunstreaker was more withdrawn and certainly more antisocial. Generally the antisocial twin's personality would lend towards a more hostile behaviour pattern, much better suited to the rings.

They worked through the training session with ease, both twins happy enough to be in each other's company. It didn't particularly matter that they didn't have time to talk or to be close to one another, they were at least in the same room together and work with one another.

At the end of the lesson all four of the bots sat themselves down on the ground in order to finish up for the day. The enforcers would be coming soon enough to escort both of the twins back to their quarters, the new quarters that they would be sharing together. Both of them couldn't wait to be alone and able to talk to one another or just bask in their joined company.

"You both did great today; you're well ahead of where all the rest of your opponents will be right now. There isn't much too specifically work on at the moment, practice will get you both better aligned with each other and how you deal with battle," SparkSoul said as she started wrapping up the session.

From her subspace the femme brought out four cubes of dark energon and passed them around. The four sat there drinking the energon as they waited for SparkSmasher to speak. Soul knew what was coming next and was sure it was going to take both the twins by surprise.

"You two are certainly doing well but I think your bond is paining you right now. I had a twin once, a bit different from the bond between you two but we certainly had a bond. I've talked to other sets of twins and especially other split spark twins. Your bond can't just be taken for granted, you have to maintain it. Without the bond you will both fade into nothing and if you think its hard now wait until the damage is permanent," SparkSmasher said as he stared at the floor. The memories this conversation were evoking were hard for him to handle, despite being quite adept at handling emotions.

Sunstreaker glanced over to Sideswipe, wondering how this mech knew they were split spark twins. Sure it was obvious enough that they were twins but split spark? That would be hard to tell for anyone standing by and watching them. This mech knew what he was talking about, that was for sure.

Both twins turned their attention back to the trainer, wanting to know how to mend their bond. It had been so long now that they had been struggling with the pain in both of their sparks, long enough that the pain had almost become normal. Sideswipe could barely remember a time when he hadn't had a pain in his spark.

"You need to spark bond, that's the best way of maintaining the bond. There are some other, more obscure ways but none that work anywhere near as well as spark bonding. Most bots don't really understand the bond between twins, less with the bond between split spark twins. Don't let anyone know if you do spark bond but you both really need it, to me it's obvious the bond has been fading a while."

That was the last of the information that SparkSmasher had to give to the twins. From there he just stared at the ground, overwhelmed by thoughts of his own twin from so long ago. He had been alive for at least three or four times as long as these twins had been. Through that time he had seen much more than either of them could ever see and would continue to live well past the time when they would offline.

The two twins knew the conversation was finished and rose from their position on the ground as the doors slid open. Instead of just four enforcers there to collect them there were eight. Sideswipe though that it was a lot of mechs for just the two of them.

The twins followed the enforcers with ease, neither one doing anything that could possibly be constituted as harmful to the bots escorting them. There was no way that now they were able to stay together that they would do anything to stop that happening. The enforcers seemed not to care that there were two of them now, the only thing showing that they were uneasy was the number of them escorting the two twins.

They were led down to the corridor they were before and stopped in front of the room which had been for Sunstreaker before. Sideswipe didn't know this but as the door was opened for them and they were led into the room it didn't matter. The enforcers left them as the two metal doors slid shut behind them.

This was the first time they had been alone together in a long time. Sunstreaker could remember the nights they would be together, out on the streets and free to do as they chose. Everything here was much more structured and had certainly kept them apart.

There was barely any walking space in the room now as there were two berths, one pressed up against each wall. The berths were easily movable but neither twin bothered to move them together. Instead as Sideswipe looked around the room he turned and threw himself into Sunstreaker's arms, clinging to him tightly.

To Sunstreaker it seemed as though his twin wasn't going to be letting go until they were retrieved by the enforcers. Sideswipe's servos were holding oh so tightly to his frame. While it should have hurt it just comforted the twin to know that Sideswipe was there, right there next to him.

Sunstreaker slowly moved the two of them over to one for the berths before lying down and bringing his twin down on top of him. Sideswipe wasn't crying but he hadn't lifted his helm up either. The close proximity of their sparks made everything seem that much better. They weren't talking but at that point in time it really didn't matter to either of them.

Sideswipe lay with his helm on Sunstreaker's chest, revelling in the feeling of his twin's chassis right there beside him. Did it matter that they were in different frames, that they had been changed drastically by their experience in the ring? No. That was the simplest answer that the twin could give. It didn't matter what had happened they were together.

In his processor Sideswipe was going over what SparkSmasher had said, about their bond. He wondered whether spark bonding would actually work to strengthen the bond, to get rid of the pain which had plagued them both for so long. It was worth a try, even if it didn't particularly work.

Sunstreaker became aware of the heat of his twin's body and found the way he was reacting odd. He shouldn't be feeling hot simply because his twin was lying on top of him. Was this some malfunction with his frame that he hadn't known about?

Sideswipe didn't become aware of what his twin was thinking until Sunstreaker's fans switched on and filled the room with noise. Their systems had hummed along quietly until that moment. Sideswipe looked up at his twin and his optics met those of Sunstreaker.

In that one second the world seemed to melt into the background. Sideswipe barely heard the noise of Sunstreaker's fans as his optics narrowed in on Sunstreaker's lip plates. Neither twin was aware that they were slowly moving closer to each other until their lip plates met.

Gently they melded their lips together, pressing in to one another. Sideswipe's fans switched on, filling the room with even more noise than either had thought possible. The twins didn't really hear it though, too focused on one another.

Sunstreaker's helm was knelt down close to Sideswipe's. Through him coursed a love for his twin that he had never felt before. He had always adored his twin, loved him in a brotherly way but this was different. It scared him to think that he thought of his brother in this way, a way that certainly wasn't right at all. He didn't just love Sideswipe as a brother but as a lover.

Never before had Sunstreaker thought in that way. He had never looked at his twin and seen a possible lover. Then again he had never looked at anyone as a possible lover. If he thought about it, the change in the type of love wasn't all that difficult to correlate. They had always loved each other, had a bond deeper than that between spark mates. Why would it be so odd if they were to take each other as lovers?

Heat welled up within Sunstreaker. It wasn't a heat that he could put a name to. It was a warm glow, spreading throughout his chassis. Soon enough he was starting to feel uncomfortable around his groin plating but he ignored it. The kiss with his twin was much too important to break off. At the feeling of a glossa at the entrance to his mouth Sunstreaker parted his lip plates.

Sideswipe's glossa darted inside, exploring his twin in a way he never had before. Their glossa's tangled together, fighting for dominance in a slow and languid way. Neither one wanted to break the lock of their lips. It didn't matter that both needed to cycle some cooler air, that they needed to let their systems relax for a bit. None of it mattered as they were so caught up in one another.

Eventually Sideswipe pulled back from the kiss, moving so that he was only centimetres way from Sunstreaker's faceplates. His servo's had glided up his twin's back and now rested on the back of Sunstreaker's neck. The two lay there, staring into each other's optics.

Sunstreaker pulled Sideswipe back in for another kiss, drawing a heated moan from Sideswipe. The stoic twin barely heard the noise as he flipped them both over so that he was resting on top of his twin. The golden twin ran his hands up Sideswipe's chest, tracing patterns across the plating.

Sideswipe gasped and arched in to the soft touches. He could feel Sunstreaker's digits gliding over him, just moving across his chest gently. It occurred to him that his twin could be getting to know his frame but Sideswipe pushed it to the back of his mind, loving the way it felt.

Sunstreaker's digits drifted lower, moving their way down to Sideswipe's abdomen. Sunstreaker leaned in to Sideswipe, kissing him yet again. Trailing his glossa down the side of Sideswipe's neck in order to garner a vocal reaction Sunstreaker revelled in the feeling of his twin beneath him.

Sideswipe found himself enjoying the weight of his twin pressing down on top of him, adoring how close their bodies were. Sideswipe gasped as Sunstreaker's digits ran up his inner thighs, leading straight to his groin plating. Digits lightly stroked the outgoing twin's codplate and Sideswipe found himself pressing into his twin's servo.

Sunstreaker laughed softly as he watched his twin below him. Triggering the side of his twin's codplate, Sunstreaker removed the piece of armour to give him full access to Sideswipe. There was a hiss from Sideswipe as the plating was removed and cool air flooded around his groin.

Sideswipe bucked as he felt one of Sunstreaker's digits enter him slowly. Lubricant started to pool on the berth below him, running out of his valve in a steady stream. The twin could barely think coherently as he felt Sunstreaker's ministrations.

Neither of the twins spoke, just enjoying being so close to each other, exploring one another for the first time in their lives. The proximity of their sparks soothed both of them, each trying to get as close to the other as possible.

Sunstreaker's optics met his twins as he retracted his digits from Sideswipe's valve. Slowly, oh so slowly, he pressed into his twin. The tight, warm heat of Sideswipe's valve surrounded him, goaded him on. Setting a slow pace the withdrawn twin rocked his hips, pumping into Sideswipe,

Sideswipe moaned as he enjoyed the feeling of his twin. He was full to the brim and in slight pain but he never wanted it to stop. This was a whole new way of being joined to Sunstreaker and he loved it.

Sideswipe's chest plates triggered open without him even realising it or commanding it. Sunstreaker's slid open at the same time, in reaction to his twin. Sunstreaker drew Sideswipe closer and closer to the edge. Lubricant was running out of Sideswipe's valve and heat was building up within the two twins.

Right before they were both about to hit their peak Sunstreaker leant down, melding his spark with Sideswipe's. The extra stimulus threw both of them into overload, the feeling washing over them in waves. The whine of cooling fans filled the room as the two sparks melded together, healing the bond.

Sideswipe could see everything that had happened to Sunstreaker from the day they had onlined. There wasn't anything that was not shown across the bond. Feelings, emotions, thoughts, everything was shared. The feeling of his twin, the other half of his spark joining with his own half erased all the pain he had ever felt, renewing the bond.

Sunstreaker let out a groan as he sank into his twin. Sideswipe was everything he had ever needed. He was the other half of himself, the two were meant to be joined together. Why had they ever split apart? Sideswipe's experiences washed over him and Sunstreaker took the time to explore them. He cringed at the sheer pain Sideswipe had been in after getting beaten up in that alleyway. He loathed himself as he saw just how much his twin hated the rings, how he hated any fighting whatsoever.

The two twins fell into recharge joined together, sharing each other's thoughts and emotions. For once in their lifetime they were together as they were meant to be, as a whole.

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How did you like it? review please!


	25. Training Together

Hey Everyone!

Another chapter? Here it is. Disappeared off camping for a bit and now I am back. No longer a full two chapters ahead of you all. I am writing chapter 27...when i'm not being dragged off into the world of avengers. I need to sit down and concentrate on writing but the issue is rl has decided to get busy. School is going back on tuesday, i have an exchange student here from France so not much time for writing unfortunately. I will hopefully get up to writing chapter 28 and strategically update the three chapters throughout this term. Next holidays I shall go on a writing spree for you all and hopefully update a lot.

Mav

Dewi111-I'm surprised myself that we still haven't at least gotten near to 90 reviews but that is just how the fandom works. I eventually plan on being one of the relatively well known authors in the fandom, it may take a while though. It is a goal for the future. Here is a chapter which I hope you will enjoy. :)

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Chapter 25

Sunstreaker woke out of recharge early in the next cycle. Still his spark was joined to his twin's, their combined feelings flowing through him. Sideswipe was still in a peaceful recharge, a contentment coming from his spark.

The withdrawn twin took the time to move them both so that Sideswipe was on top of him, making sure their sparks never disconnected. Sideswipe's armour was slightly lighter than his own, slightly more vulnerable to different pressures.

There was nothing to stand out about his twin. There were no features that could be defined as unique, nothing different from Sunstreaker's own frame except for the colour and the slightly lighter armour. Sunstreaker knew that his twin had red optics, had stared into them the night cycle before. Idly he thought about how the colour didn't actually suit his twin, didn't suit his personality nor his frame colours.

If he had the ability to, he would change his brother's optics into a different colour. Maybe blue maybe yellow, he didn't know. He loved his brother and it really wouldn't matter what he looked like he would still love Sideswipe.

The calm that held him in its grip right now made Sunstreaker feel safe and there was no pain here. Sideswipe could heal anything wrong with Sunstreaker and the twin loved that fact. He just loved his twin and sent that feeling across the bond to Sideswipe.

Sideswipe was roused out of recharge by a strong feeling of love coursing through his spark. His processor still hazy the twin couldn't remember how the bond was now strong enough for emotions. As he slowly came to he realised just why the bond was stronger and realised that Sunstreaker's arms were wrapped around him.

The twin kept his optics closed as he basked in the feeling of his twin. It had been so long since he had been this close to Sunstreaker and all he wanted to do was stay like this for the longest time possible. Sideswipe would be quite content if he never moved again.

A joking prod through the bond caused Sideswipe to open his optics. Sunstreaker knew that he was awake and Sideswipe probably should have realised that earlier. Still, it didn't matter whatsoever. They were here, together and online. That was all that mattered.

Sideswipe looked at Sunstreaker's form beside him, looking into the optics that were a deep red colour. He couldn't remember why he had been so taken aback by his twin's look all those orns ago. It was still Sunstreaker, still his other half. There was nothing about this frame very different from his own. Sunstreaker had slightly heavier armour but it was nondescript, nothing special that could be used as a weakness in the ring.

Sideswipe knew that Sunstreaker knew that he was being assessed but Sideswipe didn't stop his optics from roving over his twin's body. There wasn't all that much different from their old frames really. The colours were probably the biggest change for the both of them, and the extra armour. Oddly, Sideswipe wished that they had some defining feature that could make them both unique in their new chassis.

Sunstreaker held Sideswipe as they lay on the berth together. Neither one of them wanted to break the silence which had filled the room since the night cycle before. They were content with this silence as they shared feelings and emotions across the bond.

Love. Contentment. The two feelings were so pronounced within the two twins. They were content with each other, being so close to one another. Their love, which had always been strong, was now coursing through them like a tidal wave. Nothing was going to break them apart.

Slowly Sideswipe leveraged himself up and away from his twin, slipping the two sparks apart. Both twins gasped as their sparks were reluctant to go back into their spark casings. The metal closed back over their spark chambers as the two continued to cuddle each other, neither one wanting to stop the feeling of happiness.

The door sliding open shocked both of the twins into movement. Sideswipe just clung even tighter to Sunstreaker while the outgoing twin tried to leap of the berth to protect Sideswipe. Two very different reactions from both of the mechs who were so similar.

Sunstreaker turned and helped Sideswipe off of the berth when they realised that it was the enforcers here to take them to training for another day. Sideswipe was reluctantly removed from his clinging position with his twin as they left the room.

Eight enforcers surrounded them both and watched them warily as they were led towards the training room. There was no one in the hallways as they walked through the complex. It seemed as though the organisers were careful to make sure that most of the bots were in their rooms if someone was moving about. Probably to keep any fights from breaking out and possibly to stop friendships from being formed.

Sunstreaker looked around as he walked on. His and Sideswipes servos were intertwined as they continued on. The enforcers didn't comment and kept their stoic facial expressions until the two twins reached the training room from their previous sessions.

Sideswipe wondered what would be coming up in this session, what they could expect to go through. Would the bond they had just strengthened help them in here or would it just hinder them? There was a possibility that the bond would hinder them in the ring and that wouldn't be useful at all. Sideswipe wondered if their trainers had thought of that when SparkSmasher had encouraged them into renewing the bond.

Then again it wasn't like they had a choice in renewing the bond. It wouldn't take long before they would both be barely able to function due to how dim the bond would have gotten. Sideswipe shuddered to think about what could have happened to them both. Neither one had ever thought that they needed to renew the bond or that they would perish without it. The pain in their sparks really should have alerted them to the fact.

The training doors were slid open and the twins walked in, sideswipe going ahead of Sunstreaker. So far the room was empty so the twins settled themselves down in the middle and prepared to wait for SparkSoul and SparkSmasher.

Sunstreaker wondered if they would be trying out the new swords yet and if not when they would be able to. Sunstreaker had seen that sideswipe had used the swords before and had preferred them slightly over using his bare hands. He had also seen that his twin much preferred the blaster, being able to be well back from the opponent when he killed them.

The twin wondered whether Sideswipe disliked him for the fact that he had thrived off of the crowd's attention last time he had been in the ring. Would they be able to function together in the ring or would one of them distract the other and end up getting them both injured? The withdrawn twin wondered whether it would be such a good idea to put them into battle together. Surely it could end very badly.

What Sunstreaker wasn't considering though was just how good twins could be in battle together. If the two could work together well enough and get used to working through a battle side by side they would be a very formidable force. It was no secret that twins or even siblings did much better in dual battles than any other pairing ever did. Bond mates usually took long periods of time to get used to working alongside one another. It was usually thousands of vorns before they would even be slightly fluent in the ring together.

SparkSmasher was looking forward to training both of these twins up to go into the ring. Standing in the room with his two creators and various siblings as Creator One rattled on about just how important this training was, Smasher's processor was focusing on the training session that was mapped out for the orn.

They would start off just working with the twins, seeing how strong their bond was today. If they showed a great improvement on the previous day's battle work they would step it up and see how they would do with swords in the mix. It would be a couple of orns before the special swords were brought into play.

So far the twins had just been training using their fists in a fight. If they had started off with anything else they would have ended up injuring one another. As it was they were both very jumpy when fighting together, not an altogether good trait to have in the ring. By the end of the session though they had been doing really well and Smasher was feeling positive about the session coming up

SparkSoul was eagerly listening in to the conversation over with Creator Two but SparkSmasher just stood back and took it all in. If he had a choice he wouldn't be here right now, in this chat with the family. All of his siblings drove him nuts, apart from Soul. It didn't take much to tick him off so it was better that he just stayed in the background. He was a good fighter when he needed to be but preferred not to, unlike most of the others.

Their family was a fighting one and he was quite used to it by now. It was considered the norm to come and fight each day, after finishing the couple of vorns at the academy. They had their own purpose built rings within their home underground. Creator One would train them in a number of different fighting ways but always they would be forced to fight one another, their creator and of course the other ancients.

Supposedly it was a tradition that they all fought one another, the ancients that is. It used to be that the Kaon ancients would always win the battles, the Praxians usually lower down the scoreboard. Creator one had vowed to change that and so he had. Now the Iaconian ancients barely ever showed up to the matches and the Praxian's sat happily atop the leader board. A lot had been put on the line for this victory though, including the very lives of himself and his siblings.

Forgetting about their past for the moment SparkSmasher headed out to the training room with SparkSoul now that their conversation had finished. It was time to get down to training the two twins. They had so much potential to win the whole thing that they would be fools not to train them every spare minute of their day.

Creator One had thought it a stupid idea to pair the two mechs up but he didn't have a clue what he was going on about. He hadn't seen how they were in the rings, hadn't seen how well they would be suited to each other. Even better he had no clue that they were actually twins, the best kind of warriors there were.

The two Spark siblings walked into the room and saw the twins sitting upon the floor, waiting for the lesson to begin. The twins seemed much closer than they had been the orn before and both enjoyed seeing the new closeness. It would help a lot with the upcoming battles and training that were to be had.

Sunstreaker jumped to his feet as the siblings walked into the room, ready to get on with the training. He enjoyed being able to work out his chassis, train himself up for entering back into that ring. The twin was craving the attention of the crowds again, hearing them go wild for him. He wasn't looking forward to killing the mech but the unintentional reward it brought with it.

Sunstreaker very carefully kept this fact hidden from Sideswipe as he pulled his twin to his pedes. Hopefully this training session would go well, he really wanted to get into using the new swords the trainers were promising that they could use soon. They sounded like they could give the twins the edge in the ring and Sunstreaker was up for anything that would improve their chances.

Sideswipe reluctantly got to his pedes, seeing the excitement in his twin as they prepared for training for today. There were quick introductions to the session before they got into it. At first it was exactly what they had been doing the orn before, just working with one another while sparring against their trainers.

Further into the lesson they were each given a cube of energon and sat down on the ground for a bit of a pep talk. Both trainers wanted to move on to the next part of the session and get some weapons into the mix with the twins. They were doing very well just using their fists but bringing in the swords would add an extra twist which they were sure the twins were up for.

It was more difficult fighting in a pair with swords for them both. The blades could easily nick one of them instead of the enemy, making it that much more important that they communicated with one another. Sunstreaker was raring to fight, sideswipe not so much.

Their trainers circled around them, showing off what many of the other teams would try to do. If you didn't know your partner well enough you were unlikely to fight back to back with them and defend against attack. Instead you would focus on going on the offensive and pushing the other team into that situation, hoping that they didn't work well together.

The bond was wide open between the two of them, aiding them in what they were doing. Sunstreaker shifted forward to take a strike at SparkSmasher and Sideswipe subconsciously moved to block any attack that could come at Sunstreaker from behind. The same happened when Sideswipe leant out and attacked SparkSoul.

Both trainers continued circling, trying many different tactics that they opposition teams could employ. Many of them didn't work but there were a few that Sunstreaker and Sideswipe didn't do well on. Unfortunately they were easily separated from one another, something that worked well to the other team's advantage.

SparkSmasher started taking mental notes on what the twins would need to work on in the next session. When side by side the twins were great, never catching each other with their blades and working marvellously well to protect on another. However, once separated they lost their unity. Then they would accidentally hit each other with the swords or leave the other open for attack.

The lesson wound down, ending with the four bots sitting on the mats in the centre of the training area. Sideswipe looked around the room to see how everyone was going. Sunstreaker didn't look as tired as he felt but the twin knew his sibling was probably just as tired as him. Neither SparkSoul nor SparkSmasher looked fatigued. Sideswipe wondered whether it was because they had been brought up on good energon and in these heavy frames or if there was some other trick to fighting that they had yet to learn.

"You both did well in today's session. Keep talking with each other; work on getting to know what the other has been through. Tomorrow we'll go through how we need to fix up your teamwork in the ring," SparkSmasher said as the door slid open.

In came the enforcers. The twins shared a look before leaving with the enforcers. They were both looking forward to the next training session they would be a part of.

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Well, there is the chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it. For those who I haven't replied to reviews from, I am extremely sorry but I can no longer figure out what i have and haven't replied to. Thank you all for the lovely reviews, i appreciate each and every one of them.


	26. Double Battle

Hello Everyone!

Well it's the middle of the school term now and everything is going quite crazy on the homework front. As for fanfiction I've had no time to write and after writing 300 words for Camp Nano August I've decided it's probably not the smartest endeavor this month. School camp in two weeks before work experience and a plethora of cadet activities. I shall post again probably in week nine at school, if I can just finish off chapter 27. I've been dragged into the avengers fandom and am finding it hard to surface currently. :)

Thank you to everyone who reviews. I read each and every review as it comes in, and grin manically over each one. We have over 80 reviews for this story now, amazing work! :) I hope you all stick with me through the slow updates. Enjoy this chapter!

Georgia: Thank you so much for your review, I absolutely loved it. I'm glad you like my portrayal of the twins' characters. Here is the update, slightly faster than I was planning just for you :).

Guest: Glad you're loving this story. Thanks so much for the review! Their bond is certainly my favourite point so I love to describe it.

Dewi111: Not sure if I've replied to this previously but I'll reply now anyways, just in case. Thank you so much for your review, I loved it. Hopefully we'll break the 100 review barrier either this chapter or next chapter. My personal goal is to become at least a slightly well known author in the fandom. Spread the word about the story and we'll see how that goes. :) thanks again.

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Chapter 26

The next morning cycle saw both of the twins wide awake and ready to get to training. They hadn't bonded overnight but instead had talked about their experiences and revelled in the feeling of being so close together. They had talked about everything and both of them were feeling more positive about their time in the rings.

When the doors to their quarters both twins leapt up to go out to their training session. Sideswipe was stunned when he was pulled from the room and Sunstreaker was pushed back inside, effectively cutting the two off from each other. Sideswipe's processor was a maelstrom of thoughts, each one passing by faster than the last.

Why were they taking him away from Sunstreaker? Was he going into the rings by himself or were they getting new partners to enter the rings with? Sideswipe didn't care much for the second option but it certainly was something that could occur. He didn't want to be separated from Sunstreaker and he didn't want to go back into those rings. There had been hope when he thought he was going to be going to go back into the rings alongside his brother, to have someone else to rely on in there. If he was going back into the rings by himself he didn't know how he would go.

Yes, he had learnt a lot in the different training sessions but he didn't want to fight, not without Sunstreaker there with him. What opponent would he be going up against? Would it been one of the mechs who had come straight from the cages or one of the ones from this side of the ring, someone who had been trained up by someone else?

He guessed it didn't really matter; he was most likely going into the ring. Whether the other bot had been trained or not was really of any concern. He had to get his helm into the game and he had to win. Now that the bond was wide open it was likely that Sunstreaker would feel any pain that he received in the ring.

Up until this point sideswipe had ignored the bond but now he let himself feel what was coursing through it. There was concern, from Sunstreaker. There was also a sense of sadness and anger, Sunstreaker didn't like this any more than Sideswipe did. Sunstreaker was certainly blaming himself though, that much Sideswipe could feel through the bond.

Sending a soothing pulse over to Sunstreaker, sideswipe continued to be pushed down the hallways, two enforcers on either side of him. He idly wondered about how much energon these mechs had. Surely more energon would be given to the contestants than these mechs but it was hard to tell. They never looked fatigued and generally looked exactly like they had out on the streets.

A doorway appeared in front of Sideswipe and he knew it was the entranceway to the ring. He had come out through here last time he had competed and hopefully he would come out after this battle as well. All around him was a flurry of activity, bots going every which way.

Someone approached him with a polishing cloth, giving his frame a gentle wipe down. The paint all across sideswipe's chassis gleamed as he stood there, waiting to go up against his opponent. The doors in front of him were still as he waited; spark thrumming nervously in his chest.

He had the swords, the one from last time he was in the rings. They were hidden in the subspaces in his arms, which at least would aid him when he went in there. A bot appeared from his other side, holding a new set of blades. The mech gestured for the other ones back and handed him the new ones instead.

Sliding them into the compartments Sideswipe rolled his shoulders and prepared for the fight. The crowd cheering could be heard through the thick steal that separated him from them. Right above his helm they were all cheering on another bot, cheering for the death of one of their own. Was it right? No, but these bots obviously didn't care about that.

With an almighty cheer the doors in front of Sideswipe opened and he was held back, allowing a different mech to be led in through the doors. He was massive, much larger than Sideswipe was and larger than either SparkSmasher or SparkSoul. This mech had a large, imposing aura and the twin suddenly hoped that he would never go up against this mech in battle; it surely wouldn't end well if he did.

A strong wave of encouragement washed over Sideswipe, coming from Sunstreaker. The twin was given a hard shove of the back and into the rings he went. The crowd was even larger than it had been last time. There was no room to sit down on the seat that were there, somewhere underneath the masses of pedes. There was barely enough room for each mech to stand side by side in the area, despite how expansive the seating arrangements were.

Sideswipe ripped his attention away from the crowd and focused on the ring in front of him. The other mech would be entering the ring from the other side, where he had once come from. It was slightly disconcerting to be on this side of the ring, to have that slight advantage over his opponent. He had been trained, that mech probably hadn't. He was more likely to come back from this battle than his opponent was.

Chanting started up in the crowd, they were chanting for him. "Sideswipe, sideswipe!" could be heard throughout the room. It was odd to think that they were cheering him on, him specifically but he guessed it was all part of the experience for these bots. Sideswipe ignored them now and picked out the mech he would be killing.

The other bot was slightly smaller than him, his frame not as large or expansive as his own. This bot shouldn't be particularly hard to take down, not if he focused on it all. Sideswipe didn't want to make this fight a big deal, didn't want it to be theatrical but it was bound to be, even if he tried to go against the feeling of the crowd.

Moving forward Sideswipe kept his optics on his opponent as he moved forwards. This mech was likely to be very agile so he needed to keep an eye on him. There was a slight size difference between the two which could play a large role in the ring as they moved about. This mech, he could be more agile than sideswipe just because of the size difference. Sideswipe himself was very fast and manoeuvrable but size mattered.

Sideswipe watched as the mech unsheathed a pair of swords, the twin doing the same. If this came to an out and out sword fight odds were in his favour. He had sparred, against SparkSmasher and Sparksoul. He had trained up on this weapon and it was certainly one of his stronger weapons. The blaster was his strongest but the swords were close behind.

The twin ran forward to meet the other mech, twirling the swords in front of him. Steel met steel in an almighty crash as the opponent defended himself. The swords clashed and clashed again as the bots parried and strove to achieve dominance over the other.

The small mech managed to sink the blade into Sideswipe's leg but it left him open for attack. Sideswipe shifted his sword and severed the energon lines in his opponent's throat. Pushing further on his sword the twin managed to remove the helm from the chassis of the mech.

Stepping back Sideswipe yanked his opponent's sword from his leg, looking down on the mech he had just been fighting. It had been a short battle really, something which had lasted not long at all. However, no one was coming into the ring to collect him; he was just being left there, the centre of attention for all these mechs.

The crowd cheered, still chanting his name. Sideswipe wiped off his blades and sheathed them, spinning in a circle to view the crowd. Sunstreaker nudged from his end of the bond, getting his twin to embrace the crowd. Sideswipe was reluctant to do so but eventually lifted his arms up, pumping his fists.

An even louder cheer erupted from the crowd in response but sideswipe couldn't figure out why his twin thought the attention was so good. Surely it would be better just to get out of here, hide away and be left to deal with the death of the other mech in private.

Sideswipe whirled around as he heard the doors to the ring opening. Was he about to fight again? fight another mech in such a short period of time? He had never done that before, was this what his previous opponents had done? Was that the reason it was so much easier to win when he had faced the mechs?

The questions never would be answered though, the only mechs who could answer either offline or far removed from Sideswipe. The twin prepared himself for another battle, ignoring the energon running down his legs. It certainly wasn't a good thing going into battle with injuries that he had just sustained.

The loss of energon was making his helm spin slightly but that didn't really matter, Sideswipe could push past it, he had to. The crowd was roaring all around him, ready for this second battle. They obviously knew what was going on, unlike the twin. Sideswipe gritted his teeth and watched the other bot.

This new opponent was built pretty much exactly the same as himself, if not slightly larger in height. Sideswipe knew that this would be a harder fight, especially if it turned out this mech had some interesting weapons to use.

The mech locked onto Sideswipe's frame with a scary intensity before rushing at him. Sideswipe darted away,, slightly slower than usual because of his injury. This was not going to be a fun round. Sunstreaker kept up waves of encouragement from his end, hoping that his twin would pull through okay.

Sideswipe watched again as the mech circled around, much like a bull. He was ready for the next rush when it came. The twin darted away again, this time on the opposite side. That caught his opponent out and made him fall headfirst into the ground. It seemed like the mech had been prepared to catch a hold of him and tackle him, made obvious by a slight veer at the end of his charge.

Sideswipe utilised the opportunity now presented to him by smashing his servo into the back of this mech's helm. That dent wouldn't just be an issue for the plating but would impede the function of the mech's processor.

The opponent lifted himself off of the ground and moved to a crouching position as sideswipe moved back. There was no way he wanted to be within reaching range of this mech, it seemed he wasn't actually using his processor at all, instead relying on an uncanny instinct.

Sideswipe felt some alarm seep through the bond to him, coming from his twin. It wasn't about Sunstreaker's situation but of Sideswipes. It seemed that Sunstreaker was warning him about this mech and what could possibly happen in the next couple of minutes.

Sideswipe acknowledged the feeling before getting ready for the next charge. His opponent continued in the crouching position before launching himself at Sideswipe. The twin was unprepared for the attack as was thrown to the ground.

Punch after punch rained down on Sideswipe's helm, each one stronger than the last. The twin had no clue how he managed to get his swords out from their subspaces but somehow he did. Stabbing one of them up through the stomach plates of his opponent the twin managed to stop the mech from punching him in the faceplates again.

With this slight relief Sideswipe brought out his other sword and let it join the first in his opponent. Energon started running down onto the twin's chassis, staining his red finish. The mech on top of him was slowly losing consciousness, allowing Sideswipe to flip the two of them over in order to get himself up off the ground.

Standing up Sideswipe looked down at the mech, his optics meeting those of his opponent's. Held there was everything Sideswipe himself felt, from the loathing of the rings to the tough life they had held outside of the confines. The twin knew that this mech had been through very similar things to himself, but he would have to offline him. Funnily enough there was a plead in this mech's optics for death, the release of no longer being able to feel anything.

The twin looked around the ring, at the audience that was watching his every move. Hold the sword high he plunged it through the mech's chestplates and watched as he offlined. The chassis which was once blue faded to grey and the helm rolled to the side.

Sideswipe suddenly realised just how woozy he was feeling as he stumbled back slightly. His helm had taken a lot of damage and it was hard to even think straight right now. In his spark, through the bond he could feel Sunstreaker's desperate need to be close to him. Sideswipe soothed that need subconsciously as he looked over to where some mechs were entering the ring.

Stumbling over to them Sideswipe was soon propped up by two sets of arms and led from the ring. All around him he could hear the chants of the mechs and femmes who had watched his every move. They had watched him take a life and enjoyed it. Sideswipe felt a hatred for those bots grow within his spark as he was taken to the medical bay for repairs.

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Hope you liked the chapter. Review please? Also, go check out the poll currently up on my profile page.


	27. Tandem Swords

Hey Everyone!.

I hope you're all majorly excited because I'm updating. Woohoo! It's school holidays for two weeks so it's time to go through and update this story, Life of a Datsun, finish of the other couple of oneshots I'm doing for the Avengers fandom and just write! So, I've opened up a forum for Life of a Datsun, this story and To the Academy and Beyond so I'd love it if all you readers went and checked it out. It will be somewhere where you guys can all chat about what you think is upcoming and just share your love of the Transformers fandom. The forum is here: forum/Life-of-a-Datsun/118819/. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favourited and alerted this story. You guys keep me inspired. Let's see if we can top the number of reviews that Life of a Datsun has. The two stories now have the same number of chapters but unfortunately not the same number of reviews. Show your dedication and let's see if we can't get more reviews here than on the sister story. :D 100th reviewer gets a oneshot of their choice, written by moi! Now that I've had my lovely long rant (really I just love talking to you guys) I'll let you go read. Enjoy and review please!

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Chapter 27

Sunstreaker lay on the berth next to his twin as Sideswipe slept. His arms were wrapped firmly around the slimmer body of his brother as he thought about what had happened the previous day. He hated the fact that Sideswipe had been thrown into the ring without him there with him. He hated the fact that they were meant to be together but were once again split apart.

Life was certainly unjust and you could really see that now. Sideswipe was the twin which hated the ring and he was the one who had been thrown out there in front of the eager crowd. Sunstreaker had felt a lust grow inside of him, one that made him desperately want to be out here, in the public view with his twin.

It wasn't just a simple need to protect his twin though, it was a need to hear that crowd going wild for him, to hear them cheering him on. He wanted to feed off of the power that they supplied him, energise himself with the yells, the screams all directed at him. He wanted the rush of knowing he could control whether the opponent in front of him would live or offline. He wanted the experience.

It scared him to think how much he wanted that, wanted to go out there and up against an opponent. It shocked him to think that he wanted to take away a life, to render another bot offline. He shouldn't want to do either of those things but yet he did. It wasn't really his own choice, of his own volition rather it was something that had come about by the circumstances around him.

Sunstreaker was sure that if he was still out on the streets he wouldn't be craving to kill another bot, that he wouldn't want all that attention on him. If he was still out there he would be content with knowing that his twin loved him and that they could rely on one another no matter what came up. Things had changed though and the twin wasn't sure if he liked the changes or not.

It was too late to go back now though so Sunstreaker laid there with Sideswipe curled up against him. Were they going to training to day or were they going into the rings? Sunstreaker selfishly wanted to go into the rings by himself, to take down an opponent and feel the love from the watching bots.

The yellow twin wished that he could prevent any of his feelings from leaking through the bond to Sideswipe but knew he never wanted to risk the bond becoming so weak again. The weakness of the bond, feeling completely blocked off from his twin had hurt. A dull continuous ache, an ache of loss which registered in his spark not his processor.

Sometimes though, he though Sideswipe didn't understand, didn't understand how the rings provided such hope for him. That was something he was good at, somewhere where he was admired for his skills. For once it wasn't only his twin who could see the good in him. He wasn't just some bot in the street everyone ignored, he was someone.

Sunstreaker reigned in his emotions as Sideswipe began to stir. It wouldn't do to wake his twin up just yet. Sideswipe had battled hard in the rings just one orn before. For his twin's sake he hoped they were just going into training today, rather than the rings.

The twin continued lying there on his back, engrossed in his thoughts until the door slid open. Startled, Sunstreaker swiftly move into a sitting position, smoothly transferring his twin to the berth and protecting his recharging frame.

Instead of guards their two trainers were walking in the doorway with measured steps. The electronic door slid shut behind the mech and femme as they came in and stood in the centre of the room.

"Are you two ready for you training today?" SparkSmasher asked, inquisitive optics scanning over Sunstreaker and his half-hidden twin.

"Uh, just let me wake Sideswipe and we'll be ready," Sunstreaker said aloud as he sent a wave of energy over the bond to his twin.

Sideswipe groaned before rolling over on the berth and pushing himself into a sitting position. Shaking his helm a bit the twin focused on their visitors before shooting Sunstreaker a look.

"We're going to the training facilities to get to work, you think you're up to training Sideswipe?" Spark Soul asked.

"Yeah, 'M good to go," Sideswipe replied as he got to his feet somewhat unsteadily.

The twin's systems were still recalibrating after the patch job he had received. His frame had sustained extensive damage in the battle and although he wasn't in the medical facility he still wasn't functioning optimally.

SparkSmasher hummed and mumbled something to himself before leading the way out of the twins' quarters, SparkSoul following behind. There were no guards in sight in the hallway as the small group moved towards the training facilities.

Instead of going into their usual training room the twins were led on to another training room. Entering into the large space they realised it was larger than their usual room and the walls looked more reinforced than the others.

Sunstreaker wondered what type of training it was that they would be doing. If it was their usual training then wouldn't they be over in the normal training room rather than here? Why would they need all of this extra reinforcement for the walls unless they were going to be using much more powerful weapons?

Despite the twin's thoughts the training session started off very similar to any other. They focused in on using swords, on working together as a team as SparkSoul and SparkSmasher fought against them. It was easy to recognise that their trainers were going easy on them but it was also clear to see that the twins were improving.

Sunstreaker could feel how much easier it was to swing the two swords he held, to coordinate them with his twin as they danced around on the mat. Pedes stepped nimbly and lightly as metal clashed, filling the room with noise. Fans whirred to keep the four frames cool through their intense activity.

The group took a break to settle down and drink some energon, giving their frames a chance to cool down. It also gave Sideswipe a good chance to be able to rest, his frame starting to feel the wear and tear from the battle the orn before. The twins' trainers weren't going easy on them today, it was almost as if the morning session had been a test.

Sunstreaker's earlier thoughts were proven right as their break progressed. Their energon was half finished by the time that SparkSoul looked ready to talk, SparkSmasher looking wholly unimpressed at whatever it was that his sister was about to say.

"You have both been progressing well since we started training you both. We told you at the beginning that we had some specific weapons that we thought might suit you, now is the time to try them out," SparkSoul started, casually sipping the remainder of her energon.

"It may take a while to get used to these weapons so don't expect to master them today, or even in the next deca-orns. You could say that they are highly volatile but they are definitely worth the work to master. The damage they can do far surpasses most other weapons," SparkSmasher continued, frame rigid as he studied the twins.

"These weapons will give you the one-up over any of your opponents in the ring. All you have to do is work at it. None of them will have this weapon, absolutely none of them," SparkSoul exclaimed, seemingly excited about the upcoming training.

Sunstreaker snuck a look at his twin before focusing on SparkSoul. These weapons were sounding promising. Hard work, well he could do that. If it meant that his twin was less likely to get injured in the double battles then it was something worth working towards.

There was the thought, well in the back of his processor that was niggling at him. If these weapons were so good then the crowd would be going wild. It was likely that he would get much more popularity from the bots that filled the seats, feel more power garnered from the extra attention. If nothing else that would be worth the hard work.

SparkSoul took the look between the two twins to mean that they were ready to start with the new weapons. Draining her cube the femme leapt to her feet and reached inside her chest subspace. Extracting the two sets of tandem swords that they would be using she laid them on the ground in front of the two twins.

"Okay, these are the weapons. They look like the usual swords that you use but they aren't. These are tandem swords originally designed by our creator, or so our creator says. We take everything he claims with a grain of sour energon," SparkSoul states, frame vibrating with energy.

"You need to be careful with these swords, they are extremely powerful more so than any energon swords. Although powered primarily by energon they also link into your spark frequency to stabilise themselves," SparkSmasher continued.

"Once you've activated them no one else will be able to use them unless the swords and manually recalibrated, a process which takes a very long time. The swords become unstable quite easily as you will see in a moment. The key to using them is to keep them moving and _in tandem_. They must move at the same time, in parallel or perpendicular paths. Anything else and they destabilise," SparkSoul adds.

"Once they destabilise you must stop moving the swords immediately and bring them down by your sides, it's the best place to get them to realign again. It takes a while to get used to using these swords; today's lesson will be pretty full on. I can assure you that you'll destabilise the swords at least twice in the first twenty clicks that you use them," SparkSmasher finishes.

"I'm going to quickly demonstrate how to use these, what the technique looks like. Keep in mind that these swords can pretty much cut through any known metal to Cybertronians. The extra power from your sparks makes them that much stronger," SparkSouls states as two swords slide from the subspaces at her wrists.

The swords twirl, moving faster and faster in perfect synchronicity. They begin to glow, not brightly but still glowing just slightly as if powered by an unseen energy. Suddenly SparkSoul is twisting and turning parrying against unseen enemy forces. Instead of looking like some jerking, halting movement the use of the swords looks like a well-coordinated dance.

Sweeping arcs change into short twisting moves, neither sword getting out of the perfect synchronicity. They move together, extremely coordinated as SparkSoul twirls them.

Sunstreaker looks on in awe, not showing his amazement at the swords but certainly feeling it. You could easily tell that these swords weren't your normal energon swords but it did look like they were easy to use. After SparkSmasher and SparkSoul telling them how hard it would be he could tell it was all a deception.

The swords were brought back down to SparkSoul's sides, their twirling movement slowing down until they stopped moving. Sheathing them again SparkSoul's optics returned to their normal colour. Before Sunstreaker hadn't noticed but his trainer's optics had started to glow, just like the tandem swords.

"They are the tandem swords. Difficult to use but devastatingly effective if used appropriately and with the right training. We'll get started now but we probably won't get through much today," SparkSmasher started, getting to his pedes.

Following their trainer's lead the twins hopped to their feet, excited to begin using these new weapons. Having never seen anything like it before, energy hummed through their systems with their excitement. Sideswipe was excited to be learning something new, something which was just so cool. Sunstreaker on the other servo was excited because he would be learning to use a weapon which would bring the crowds to their feet in amazement. Two totally different reasons behind the exact same feelings, the twins were an epitome of contradictions.

"Right, now I want both of you to pick up your swords and hold them down by your side. Don't move them yet," SparkSoul instructed as she came to stand directly in front of the twins.

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe followed the instructions as SparkSmasher unsheathed his own set of tandem swords.

"Sideswipe, SparkSmasher will be directly looking after your training while I instruct you, Sunstreaker. This first bit is the hardest to master. After that it becomes a lot simpler," SparkSoul said as she walked over to the other side of the room, expecting the yellow twin to follow.

Separated on the two opposite sides of the room the twins began to learn how to use their new weapons. After picking his swords up Sunstreaker felt a small jolt of energy pass through his servos but thought nothing of it. SparkSoul hid a smile, knowing that the twins had just passed the first test-being able to pick up the swords. Not everyone's spark signatures were accepted by tandem swords but it seemed as though these twins were fine.

"Okay, just hold the swords down by your sides. I want you to concentrate on the weight and balance of the swords. Try to identify the small energy signature belonging to the swords. They have already connected to you, that was the jolt of energy you felt earlier," SparkSoul commented as she waited for Sunstreaker to follow her instructions.

The twin focused in on his swords, concentrating on how they felt sitting in the palms of his servos. He couldn't feel the energy signature that SparkSoul was talking about but he figured he would find it in time; it wasn't like he was meant to learn everything in the one training session.

"Okay, I want you to try twirling your swords around in a circle once at the exact same time. If they start to like they are unstable, off balance or too energised then bring them right back to your sides."

Following this guidance Sunstreaker tried to twirl the swords around. He wasn't even a quarter of a way through the first twirl and he could feel the swords grow hot and heavy in his hands. Panicking he brought them rapidly down to his sides where they returned to their earlier state. Shooting a look over to his brother he realised that the exact same thing had happened to him.

"It's okay, try it again. I did say that this was the hardest bit."

Sunstreaker continued to try and twirl his swords. Throughout the rest of the joor he progressed from being able to make a quarter of a turn with his swords to half a turn. The back half of the turn he started to have problems with. Bringing the swords up in front of you in time was a lot easier than doing the back half behind you, the twin discovered.

Frustrated he continued trying throughout the rest of the lesson but when it came time to go back to their quarters Sunstreaker was no closer to getting a full circle. His only consolation was the fact that Sideswipe still couldn't get half a turn with the swords. He certainly wasn't behind but not being able to do something and do it well irked him.

SparkSoul and SparkSmasher delivered the twins back to their rooms before heading back to the training room. The tandem swords had been left with the twins, as well as instructions not to use them until training the next day.

"The training lesson went better than expected," SparkSmasher commented.

"Hmm, they are learning pretty fast. Sunstreaker is already getting frustrated though," SparkSoul mused.

"They're doing well, hopefully they're doing well enough to be able to beat their opponents when the double battles come around," SparkSmasher said.

"Hopefully, for their sake and ours."

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Thanks so much for reading. Don't forget to check out the forum and review please!


	28. Training and a Fight

Hey Everyone!

Well the last chapter kind of up and failed due to the fact that no one got the emails to alert them and I got no reviews :( Sadness. However, here is chapter 28! I know, two chapters in two weeks it's a miracle. It's all thanks to the school holidays which are now ending so unfortunately no more quick updates for you guys. Actually, there won't be many updates in the near future due to NaNoWriMo, where i am writing an original fiction story. I hope that some of you readers are embarking on a similar journey and have fun in your novel-ling experience. Also, head over and check out the Life of a Datsun and A Hell on Cybertron forum which is up and running. The link is on my profile page, I'd love to see all you readers there. That's all for now, enjoy the chapter and please review.

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Chapter 28

The swords felt heavy in his servos, not at all comforting in their weight. Sideswipe stood there nervously, feeling the energy that hummed over the tandem swords and into his arms. Orns later and he was still struggling with these slagged swords. They were a pain to use and a pain to practice with, especially when he was being shown up at every twist and turn by his brother who had taken to them like a duck to water. It just wasn't fair.

He didn't like the way they hummed with their own energy, the way he could hurt someone if he didn't wield them properly. They were dangerous, really dangerous. They were possibly more deadly than any other weapon he had used so far.

Looking up at SparkSmasher he cycled some air and began to turn the swords. He made it half way around, and then three quarters without once having to stop because the swords were becoming un-synchronised. This was a first. Usually he couldn't get that third quarter turn, the last quarter was easy to bring in.

Encouraged he went around again, slightly faster. Grinning from audio receiver to audio receiver the twin exulted in this small improvement. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

SparkSmasher had a slight smile across his faceplates, showing just how much of an improvement this was. The trainer had possibly doubted him for the last couple of sessions, especially after he threw a fit and walked out. He didn't want these swords, didn't want to battle and certainly didn't want to accidentally hurt himself or his brother using these weapons.

It seemed as though Sunstreaker had no such inhibitions as he wielded the swords. Moving from just a simple twirl in a circle his sibling had managed to start learning contact manoeuvres. Sometimes in their lessons Sunstreaker would gently spar with SparkSoul, the clash of their swords a ominous sound in the practice room.

Sideswipe twirled his swords faster and faster. He didn't notice them glowing until after a few kliks of continuous spinning. Shocked he brought them to a halt immediately, wondering if they had become unstable. SparkSmasher just let out a short laugh in front of him.

"You finally managed to get the swords powered up properly. Go again; don't worry about that kind of glow. If you were concentrating then you would have felt the energy spreading from the swords into your spark, forming a fairly strong connection. Focus in on that connection, start to feel what you can do with the swords," SparkSmasher advised before gesturing to Sideswipe to continue.

Sideswipe started up circling the tandem swords again. He closed his optics and focused in on his spark. He could feel it; he really just hadn't been concentrating before. There was the energy, running through his energon lines to seep straight into his spark. These swords were powerful, deadly and just a little bit majestic. They weren't bloodthirsty, just majestic swords used for battle but also as much for show as anything else. He could feel a mystery there, the swords letting in on a story that few knew and Sideswipe could barely decipher. There was history behind these swords, history like few bots would ever know.

In awe of the tandem swords Sideswipe flicked his optics back online before starting to twirl them faster. The energy overwhelmed him, wave after wave battering his spark. Any weakness he may have felt was washed away with the tandem swords energy, retreating to the very back of his processor. Now he understood why his sibling liked these swords so much. They were powerful, energising and awe inspiring.

He brought the swords to a stop and looked over to Sunstreaker where he was weaving back and forth, an intricate dance made up of twirling swords and nimble footsteps. He had never seen his brother so graceful before. Sunstreaker appeared more like a dancer than a gladiator fighter, each movement as graceful and smooth as the last.

Sideswipe looked over at his twin and realised something. Even if life wasn't what they wished it to be, being in these rings wasn't as bad a thing has he had originally thought. Here at least they were learning to fight, being given energon and medical attention. They had received the needed upgrades and they had some opportunities ahead of them. Maybe, just maybe if they escaped at some point they would have the skills they would need to survive on much tougher streets or even make a semi normal living in another city. Things suddenly weren't looking so bad as he had originally thought.

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The audience of the crowd seemed to have grown since the last time Sunstreaker had fought. Had they put in extra seating or was he just slightly unused to it? Never mind, this was going to be a good fight. Sideswipe stood right beside him, ready to go if not a little hesitant at the idea of a fight.

They both had their tandem swords but of course they weren't going to use them. This was the first of the double battles and they would be able to take down their opponents with ease, or so their trainers seemed to think.

SparkSoul had mentioned something about many of the other double battle competitors not having very strong connections and not knowing how to work with one another. It seemed a reasonable summary of many of the other bots here. Most lived on the streets by themselves and rarely trusted another to look out for them. The trust between the twins may just be their saving grace.

From the other side of the ring they could see the doors slide open and allow two bots to enter the ring. They looked identical to each other but that was an easy feat to achieve, just giving two bots the same frame type. Most bots in here had the same frame type anyway.

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe moved forward as one, each twin taking a different side of the ring. The crowd roared in anticipation, ready to watch some of their favourite fighters' battle it out in the ring. Up the back sat SparkSoul and SparkSmasher, watching the twins to see what would need to be worked upon in the following orn's lesson. This was a good a time as any to learn the weaknesses of their two trainees.

The trainers of the other set of fighters sat next to them in the stands. All four bots were well at the back of the room, perched upon some of the worst placed seating in the venue. More seating had been added to accommodate the growing audiences who had travelled from around Cybertron to watch the various matches held in this stadium. It seemed no easy feat to be able to fit so many into one large stadium but somehow it was managed.

Sunstreaker moved in on the larger of the opponents. The mech looked strong, not very agile but also seemed somewhat of a brute. It seemed the mech relied on brute strength to take out an opponent; something that Sunstreaker knew could be a great weakness if he exploited it properly.

Moving in nice and close he feinted a jab with his fist before twirling out of the way. He hadn't brought any of his swords out yet, choosing to keep them for a later moment in time. It would be much better if he played his cards close to his chassis.

Sideswipe seemed to be having no issues from where he was engaging the other opponent so the more withdrawn twin focused in on the mech in front of him. The brute lunged for Sunstreaker and the twin dived out of the way, spun round and slammed a pede into the back of the mech's helm. This was going to be a really easy battle if the mech didn't pick up his game.

The twin didn't move out of the way quickly enough and suddenly his pede was encircled by a strong, unyielding servo. He was thrown over his opponents head, colliding with the ground suddenly and painfully. Growling he pushed himself to his pedes and unsheathed a normal set of energon swords.

Sunstreaker lunged, just missing with his right sword before turning and hitting the mech with his left sword. A yell was let out as the sword cut through reinforced armour, piercing numerous energon lines as it slipped into the middle of the mech's chassis. That was going to be a difficult wound to fight with.

Withdrawing the sword in a skilled move Sunstreaker danced back and waited for the mech to retaliate. When it came the mech lunged at him again, using the sheer size of his frame to try and take out the twin. Sunstreaker didn't dart away, instead standing there and bringing up one of his swords to plunge it through his opponent's spark chamber. Immediately following the last manoeuvre he brought the other sword up and slit the energon line at the back of the mech's neck, ensuring that it wouldn't be long before the bot offlined.

Sunstreaker was knocked to the ground with the momentum, frame colliding with the harsh unforgiving ground yet again. He really did hate mucking up his paint scheme and his frame each time he went into battle. He would have to get better at that.

Heaving the other mech off of him the twin got up and looked over to wear sideswipe was fighting the other mech, finding that his sibling was just delivering the killing blow. This battle was over, the first of their ones in the double battles and they had done well, without the tandem swords.

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Sideswipe made for his opponent quickly. He moved his pedes quickly and quietly, rushing forwards to meet this mech head on. They were exactly the same size so neither had a very large advantage over the other. It seemed to the twin that this mech was a little reluctant to go into a physical battle with him so Sideswipe immediately went for a tackle. The mech didn't move but nor did he embrace the tackle, being thrown to the ground hard before Sideswipe punched him dead in the faceplates. The mech's head snapped to the side before Sideswipe was up and darting away.

He moved back and surveyed his opponent carefully. It seemed as though this mech was relatively unskilled, maybe he hadn't gone up against anyone particularly hard to battle with last time he had come in the ring because he was seriously not very skilled for someone who had made it so far.

Sideswipe didn't unsubspace his swords, preferring to use his bare hands for this one. It would seem kind of unfair if he had such an advantage over this mech. Maybe this bot hadn't even fought before, instead a newbie brought into the ring in order for the other mech to have a partner.

Sideswipe danced around the mech until he was back on his feet and thoroughly enraged. The twin darted around as the mech rushed at him, using the mech's own momentum to allow his opponent to fall straight back onto the ground where he had been just moments before.

Jumping onto his opponents back Sideswipe started pummelling the back of the bots helm with his fists, delivering heavy blows to the sensitive part of his chassis. This wasn't going to take long at all.

The bot beneath him threw Sideswipe off onto the ground before stumbling to his pedes. Sideswipe was back up in a flash and already swinging a fist straight into the bot's faceplates. The punch, instead of just doing some light damage, went straight through the faceplates to reach out the other side of the helm. Sideswipe had just punched straight through the mech's helm, taking out the processor in the process. This was just disturbing.

Sideswipe removed his servo before dusting it off on the ground. The offline chassis of his opponent fell to the ground as the twin focused on the roaring crowd. Energon spilled out onto the ground as he looked around. Each and every member of the crowd was yelling for more energon, wanted to see more fighting and watch more mechs offline.

The twin was disgusted by the atrocities that these bots wanted to witness. They really had no clue what it meant to be on the edge of life, facing the possibility of being offline. Sideswipe found it in himself to pity these poor bots on their naivety.

The twin looked over to meet Sunstreaker's gaze. His sibling stepped over to him and they grasped one another's servos to lift them high in the air, showing their combined strength. The crowd went wild as the two painted smiles onto their face plates. Sunstreaker's smile was unforced but Sideswipe's was very forced, he did not feel the happiness that his twin seemed to feel, at all.

The two twins left the ring, the cheering crowd behind them as they retreated into the quiet of the quarter's complex. Glad to be returning to their room to cuddle close and rest before the next orn's training where they would undoubtedly be smashed.

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There you go, Chapter 28. If you haven't read chapter 27 you may like to go back and do so. Thanks for reading and please review.


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